FCCC welcomes review of laws on fraud and scam

The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission has welcomed the Cabinet's recent approval for the review of Fiji's laws on fraud and scam protection.

The FCCC says the aim of the review, which will be undertaken with the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund, is to help ensure that there are adequate protections in place to address the growing threats of cybercrime and fraud, which continue to have an impact on consumers, businesses, and the Fijian economy as a whole.

FCCC Chief Executive Officer Joel Abraham highlighted the need for stronger legal frameworks in the fight against scams and fraud.

He says this review represents a crucial step forward in their work of keeping Fijians safe.

He says they have been pushing for stronger scam and fraud protection laws for quite some time.

Abraham says as scams grow more complex in nature and become more frequent, there is a need for laws that are flexible and responsive and are able to adapt to these new threats.

He adds in addition to their awareness efforts, where they encourage a proactive stance by the public in terms of being vigilant and avoiding scams in the first place, they see the need for more detailed and stricter laws so that we have severe punishment that can serve as a deterrent to offenders.

The CEO says some areas of focus that FCCC would like to see include legal mandates for telecommunication and digital platforms to stop scammers from contacting consumers and integration of consumer education into school curriculums.

He says establishing legal mechanisms for the recovery of payments in cases where service providers are proven negligent is also very important to them.

He further says they are also looking into reassessing the legal obligations of banks, telecommunications providers, and eWallet platforms to enhance protections, especially in light of recent scams like the eBay shop Online scam.

FCCC also supports ongoing training and knowledge sharing to ensure regulatory and enforcement bodies stay ahead of scam tactics.

Abraham says they hope that this review takes a whole-of-society approach, bringing together government bodies, regulatory authorities, and the private sector to ensure that the Fijian people are safeguarded.

He says as regulators, they must ensure that our systems are secure and evolve to meet new challenges.

FCCC looks forward to contributing to the review and working with stakeholders to develop a stronger, more responsive legal framework to protect Fiji’s consumers from fraud and scams.