Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday blasted Eslite and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Department of Commerce for failing to protect customer data, after more than 900 fraud complaints involving the firm were recorded last year.
Liu convened a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, demanding action from the bookstore chain and saying that its customers have become victims of fraud due to its negligence.
The department and police also have a responsibility to improve oversight at the company, she added.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Liu’s attention on Eslite follows an increasing trend of customer data falling into the hands of scammers, raising concern over consumer rights protections.
There were 3,682 scams reported involving ATM installment payment plans in the first 11 months of last year, with losses totaling more than NT$540 million (US$19.53 million), Liu said, citing Criminal Investigation Bureau data.
Some of these scammers targeted Eslite online customers, pretending to be a company representative requesting that they cancel a mistakenly set installment payment plan by entering their banking information at an ATM, she said.
Eslite customers have filed more than 900 fraud reports or inquiries over the past year, not to mention the many that have likely gone unreported, Liu said.
The bureau last year referred 152 complaints about e-commerce data leaks to other agencies, including 95 to the department, Liu said.
Four of these were about Eslite, one fewer than the amount at which police usually include a company on its weekly list of risky platforms and advises avoiding related scams, she said.
Even though Eslite was the most commonly reported platform to the 165 anti-fraud hotline last year, the company has not reported a single case to police, Liu said.
Many people do not suspect they are about to be scammed when a caller has their order number, date, payment amount, credit card and other information, Liu said, adding that older people and those without their full mental faculties are especially at risk.
Although Eslite in April last year hired an external security firm to review its system, the cause of the leak has yet to be identified, she said, adding that the issue has persisted for more than nine months.
The government is responsibile to respond, Liu said, accusing the department of being too passive.
Although companies are asked to improve data security, the problem clearly persists, she said, calling on police and government agencies to be more active in pursuing a solution, whether legal or otherwise.
Bureau Research and Development Division Director Rufus Lin (林建隆) said that most fraud involving e-commerce platforms involve leaked data.
Eslite members last year filed complaints with police in April, June, August and last month, indicating that the leak is periodic, he said.
However, Eslite has not yet identified the source of the leak, Lin said, adding that the bureau has contacted the department to ask the firm to improve its data security.
Department specialist Hsiao Hsu-tung (蕭旭東) said that inspections of firms with periodic leaks would be conducted this year in accordance with Article 22 of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Under the act, companies with unsatisfactory protection practices might be given a deadline to improve and punished accordingly if the deadline is not met, he added.
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