OCBC Bank has rolled out a “kill switch” that enables customers to freeze all their accounts during emergency situations, following the wave of phishing attacks.
OCBC Bank launched an emergency “kill switch” that enables customers to freeze all their current and savings accounts if they suspect any fraudulent activity.
The new measure came after almost 790 customers lost a total of SGD 13.7 million ($10.09 million) from the SMS phishing scams in December. The kill switch can be activated in the event of a scam using option ‘8’ through the bank’s official contact number or at OCBC ATMs.
Once activated, no transactions can pass through whether digitally, using an ATM or at bank branches, and even pre-scheduled fund transfers will be disabled.
The switch can only be deactivated by an OCBC representative upon verification instructions from the customer. After the successful deactivation, all settings before the kill switch activation will be reinstated.
The kill switch feature was rolled out in March
The kill switch feature was rolled out in all OCBC ATMs in March. The representative will contact the customer after the kill switch is activated to remove the compromised bank account or card’s access, and then issue new ones.
There are two ways to activate the kill switch without any human intervention. The customer can call OCBC’s official contact number or at OCBC ATMs. You need to call OCBC’s official contact number, 1800 363 3333 or +65 6363 3333, if calling from overseas. You need to Press 8 while the call continues to suspend your account.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
If you want to suspend your account through OCBC’s ATM here are the steps:
The central bank has ordered all banks to drop clickable links in emails and text messages that are sent to retail customers and focus on other safety measures to reduce fraud activities and have a crackdown on scammers.
OCBC introduced a dedicated hotline option for consumers that seek assistance for suspected fraudulent transactions on 18 January, to make the process frictionless. A specially trained customer service executive will help the customers to freeze their accounts. Customers will be, guided on the process of making a police complaint and to keep an eye on the banking activities.
The new measures are "in line with the industry's efforts" to boost the security of digital banking.
"Even before that, OCBC customers could also lock their credit or debit cards via the OCBC Digital mobile banking app, if cards are misplaced or fraudulent transactions are detected,” OCBC said,
The bank advised customers to use this option only when they detect fraud or any scam so that customers can receive immediate attention.
OCBC has apologised for the scams, which consumers have experienced. It handed goodwill payouts to the victims of the recent fraud. More than 90% of customers have received these payouts. Lawrence Wong, Finance Minister said the remaining reimbursements will be completed soon.