On 13 and 14 December 2016, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), together with ASEANAPOL and INTERPOL, and with the support of the Romanian National Police and the Royal Thai Police, convened for the Third Strategic Meeting on Payment Card Fraud (PCF) in Bangkok Thailand. The event was hosted by the Electronic Transaction Development Agency (public organisation), and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. Thirty law enforcement officers from four EU Member States (Austria, France, Greece, and Romania) and their ASEAN counterparts (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) participated in the two-day meeting to discuss operational achievements in the area of combating cyber fraud and to agree on the steps to follow with regard to security of non-cash means of payment. The event focused on the exchange of expertise in the area of prevention and combating ATM/POS fraud, data compromising, ATM malware, and eCommerce fraud. A specific action plan concerning further cross-regional cooperation between European and Asian law enforcement was devised, following recent successful operations between the two parties. During the event, experts presented new and so far unreported modus operandi detected by their investigative units and analysed cases involving European criminals that are active in Asia. The participants also agreed on operational plans for coordinated actions in the near future. Police Major General Chayout Rattanaubol from the Central Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police addressed the issues of threats in the digital payment environment and countering cyber fraud. The Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Thailand, Luisa Ragher, highlighted the need for inter-regional cooperation among the EU’s law enforcement agencies and the private sector, and those of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). A public-private partnership was achieved thanks to the active participation of the European ATM Security Team (EAST), LiquidNexxus, and the involvement of the Bank of Thailand and the Thai commercial banks. The ThaiCERT – ETDA facilitated the cooperation between the law enforcement community and the Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).
Steven Wilson, Head of EC3, pointed out: “Electronic transaction security is of great importance to businesses and customers and this cannot be achieved without strong international cooperation between the public and private sectors. This event has provided the law enforcement community with a comprehensive overview of payment fraud and how it is evolving globally.” Europol’s EC3 has consistently undertaken a proactive approach, assisting EU law enforcement authorities (LEAs) to combat PCF. A successful first strategic meeting in this crime field was held in Singapore in November 2015, initiating investigations both in the EU and Asia. The event was followed by a second strategic meeting which took place in Malaysia early this year. The Third Strategic Meeting consolidated the setup of a cross-regional network to assist international investigations targeting PCF. The agency recognises the severity of this far-reaching global threat and will continue to assist LEAs to fight it. Europol is actively developing international cooperation on combating payment fraud, which is one of the EU priorities (Cybercrime – Payment Fraud – led by the Romanian Police) within the EU Policy Cycle 2014-2017 for organised crime and serious international crime as endorsed by the Council of the EU.
c.s. – Europol
