More than 360 online financial fraud incidents have been reported in the past month, according to the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT), Ada Derana reported.
Lead Information Security Engineer Charuka Damunupola said the public should exercise greater caution when conducting financial transactions online. During the recent festive period, including the Vesak and Poson seasons, cybercriminals have increasingly used fake advertisements impersonating well-known brands to deceive consumers and obtain sensitive personal and financial information, he said.
“Throughout the past month, we have received reports of incidents involving the collection of personal information through fraudulent advertisements and the theft of credit card details,” Damunupola said.
He urged the public to verify that any online payment is made only through an official and legitimate website, and warned against entering personal or financial information on sites accessed through links received via text messages or other unsolicited communications.
SLCERT advised internet users to remain vigilant and carefully check website authenticity before sharing sensitive information or completing online transactions.
The warning builds on a similar CID alert about police-impersonation cyber scams, an IGP-driven crackdown on island-wide online fraud in May and the CBSL “Be Scam Proof” public-awareness campaign launched earlier this week. Together they point to a steadily expanding regulator response to a payment-scam wave that has scaled with Sri Lanka’s increasing adoption of digital wallets and online retail.
