Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni on Thursday urged Members of Parliament (MPs) to remain alert against fraud involving mobile phone hacking, voice cloning and forged signatures.
Speaking on a point of order during Thursday’s parliament session, he said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had already started taking preventive measures to address such digital fraud.
“There have been reports in newspapers about mobile phones. Yesterday, three MPs told me that messages were sent from their numbers asking for Tk50,000 urgently, another for Tk30,000 and another for Tk25,000,” Moni said.
He said he tried to contact the MPs whose numbers were used to send the messages, but they did not respond to his calls.
“It means their mobile (numbers) have been hacked,” he said.
The Chief Whip urged lawmakers to remain vigilant and raise awareness about the issue across the country.
“I think if you (MPs) know about this matter, the whole country will know. Let the whole Bangladesh know through television,” he said.
He said fraudsters were also using voice cloning technology and forged documents to deceive people.
“Some people are forging signatures and producing documents. That has also become a problem,” he said, adding that lawmakers from both the opposition and ruling party had fallen victim to such incidents.
Deputy speaker seeks state action
At this stage, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal asked who should be responsible for preventing such incidents.
“You have raised the issue. Who is responsible for taking preventive measures? The state,” he said.
He said MPs who became victims of voice cloning or other forms of digital fraud should not be held responsible for such incidents.
“Preventive measures shall be taken by the relevant ministry, the executive branch or the state,” the Deputy Speaker said.
In response, Moni said the issue was discussed on Wednesday and that the BTRC had already begun working on preventive measures.
“The BTRC has started taking preventive measures so that we can resolve this problem,” he said.
