The IMF and the World Bank have presented 12 tips for combating financial cyberfraud
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group leadership published the “Bangkok Plan” on Wednesday—a framework containing 12 key recommendations for combating cyberfraud in the digital financial services sector.
The document was developed in collaboration with the Bank of Thailand. It is intended to help countries prevent fraud, detect such incidents, and counter the rise of cyber threats in the digital finance sector.
"While strengthening authentication controls has reduced the number of unauthorized fraudulent activities, jurisdictions are facing a rapid increase in the number of authorized fraudulent activities, where victims, under the influence of social engineering, initiate transactions themselves,” the document states.
According to the document, global data confirms this structural discrepancy: while unauthorized fraud is steadily declining, application-based fraud (APP) has risen to unprecedented levels: annual global losses have exceeded $442 billion, with software-based fraud accounting for the vast majority. Asian economies are disproportionately vulnerable, accounting for 67% of estimated global fraud losses in 2024, reflecting the widespread adoption of digital technologies combined with increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
The IMF and the World Bank noted that digital finance has expanded access, innovation, and efficiency, but has also enabled fraud to occur with greater speed, scale, and complexity. Cyberfraud is increasingly linked to transnational organized crime and is considered by Interpol to be one of the most threatening crimes in the world, alongside drug trafficking and money laundering.
“Trust is the foundation of every financial system. As digital finance expands, countries must work together to combat cyber fraud and preserve trust in the technologies that support growth and inclusion,” said Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, commenting on the initiative.
The Bangkok Plan is built around five pillars: establishing a strategic and legal framework; strengthening the fraud mitigation lifecycle; leveraging existing risk mitigation and compliance systems; expanding domestic and cross-border cooperation; and promoting consumer protection and resilience.
Recognizing that fraudulent schemes often involve social media, digital platforms, e-commerce, and telecommunications networks, the Action Plan emphasizes the need for clear accountability and timely cooperation between the public and private sectors at both the national and international levels. It encourages countries to adapt the 12 provisions outlined in the plan to their legal, institutional, and market conditions.
At the same time, the document notes the need for policymakers to strike fundamental trade-offs when implementing measures to reduce fraud: security versus convenience, efficiency, and inclusivity; data sharing versus privacy; economic efficiency versus distributive justice. Regarding the latter, in Thailand, 5% of fraud cases account for 70% of fraud-related losses.
“Given the extreme disproportion in losses, optimizing law enforcement resources to recover high-value losses yields the greatest financial return but leaves vulnerable small-scale victims without compensation. Making these inevitable trade-offs is a central consideration as policymakers translate fraud reduction principles into operational practice,” states the “Bangkok Plan.”
This is stated in the document.
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