Dmoney and Shohoz breaches user data

Digital Financial Service Dmoney allegedly opened account without user consent using infringedmobile app information-Shohoz, registration partner of the recently held Dhaka International FolkFestival (DIFF).
Hundreds of users alleged in social media post that they received notification of new account opening of the mobile financial services as they use Shohoz App to deal FolkFest activities.
Dmoney collected participants' personal information from Shohoz and made them customers creating Dmoney accounts without direct consent from the participants and requested them to make deals and keep PIN code confidential, according to the allegation.
Participants claimed that they submitted information including photocopies of NID cards in a prescribed form of Shohoz, the event organiser, which is a rare incident for such events.
Some DIFF participants said they became confused and frustrated after receiving email from Dmoney mentioning that their accounts have been created with the service.The email, shared on social media by different registrants, reads: "Registration successful. Wallet ID PIN: Please keep your PIN secret. "You will be notified once you're NID and bank information are verified."
Regarding the allegation, the correspondent communicated with the two agencies - Dmony and Shohoz and they replied through public relation agency,
In a statement, Dmoney authorities have denied the allegation, in a statement, saying that there 'Dmoney account has not been created for anyone'.
"We sincerely regret the 'accidental mail' and have sent clarification mail to all" read the Dmoney statement mentioning that the firm has been and will continue effort to ensure data privacy.
Shohoz App have endorsed the statement of organizers mentioning that the DIFF authorities only shared name, email address and phone numbers of the registered participants with the newly launched digital wallet Dmoney, the official payment partner of DIFF 2019 for all on ground payments.
Digital snapshots of such messages sent by the operator are also attached with the complaint letters and available in social media.
Industry experts say account opening of consumers by Dmoney without their prior consents is completely unethical and violation of consumer privacy rules.
Regarding this , Dhaka University Business Faculty Dean Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam said the data breach is a violation of consumers' privacy that may trigger massive data breach incidents in future to hit financial inclusion led growth.
"You can't open bank account for anybody without consumer's direct consent. Such consumer data breach and privacy violation not only a digital crime- also crime under the land of the law" Prof Shibli told the Daily Observer on Tuesday.
Shibli also mentioned that collecting data from third party sources, if you open account for any customer, you are involved in customer's data breach and privacy violation.
"Such activities are very dangerous for all of us. And this violation should come under regulatory scrutiny to avoid any unwanted disaster", he said.
Software developers also mentioned that data can be misused by bad actors within a company, stolen by cybercriminals or inappropriately shared with third parties.
Talking to Daily Observer, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Standing Committee member Minaoar Hossain Tanzil said the security and privacy should be among the most important considerations when building digital finance systems. If, incidents of data privacy go up, consumers will feel their rights are not protected.
"Mobile phones and networks are transforming the world of finance, creating opportunities for widespread financial inclusion, especially among neglected regions and groups. But violations of privacy by any financial services operator could be hinder for industrial growth," Tanzil added.
Several users have submitted complaint with Bangladesh Bank and the central bank is going to examine some allegations submitted by consumers for violating their personal data and privacy by a DFS operator, according to sources.