Financial experts say the real fight against scams is online where victims are manipulated into transferring money themselves, following an MP’s call for banks to implement fingerprint verification systems at ATMs to identify fraudsters.
At a recent roundtable discussion on financial crime and compliance at the International Conference on Financial Crime and Counter Terrorism Financing (IFCTF 2025), industry players said although biometric authentication enhanced security, fingerprint systems at ATMs might not be the most effective or future-proof strategy.
Jason Shane, the head of strategy and innovation (financial services) for SymphonyAI, said fingerprints could be cloned and might offer limited protection compared to newer AI-driven image verification tools.
“We’re seeing technology now that uses artificial intelligence to detect blood flow beneath the skin and ensure that a real human is being authenticated, not a deepfake or a spoofed image.
“That’s where the industry is heading, towards sophisticated AI-based identity checks rather than static biometric scans,” he said.
Consultant Charles Lewis from consulting firm Oliver Wyman in Singapore said most scams are not carried out via physical withdrawals, but happen online as victims are socially engineered into sending money to fraudsters.
“ATMs aren’t really the focal point anymore. The vast majority of scams happen online through investment traps, romance scams and fake job offers where victims willingly transfer money after being manipulated,” he said.
Shane and Lewis also called for greater investment in public awareness campaigns, early fraud detection systems and data-driven fraud analytics.
DAP MP Chong Chieng Jen recently suggested in Parliament that banks implement fingerprint systems at ATMs to trace and flag individuals making repeated withdrawals from multiple accounts, which he said could help identify scammers using mule accounts.
Chong had cited rising losses from scams nationwide at RM1.91 billion as of September this year, up RM339 million from 2024, as evidence that existing measures, including the National Scam Response Centre, were falling short.
