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Banks urged to focus on strategies to combat e-Fraud

By on October 22, 2015

Beyond developing attractive electronic financial products for their clients, commercial banks have been advised to devise methods of ensuring the highest possible security and protection from attacks on their e-banking platforms.
The call was made by Mr. Ibrahim Shazali of the Bank Fraud Section, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a paper presented yesterday at the ongoing workshop for financial journalists organisedby the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) in Ilorin.
Specifically, Shazali advised banks to adopt corporate controls such as internal audits, rotation of personnel and physical IT security procedures. This, according to him should be coupled with intensified fraud risk mitigation, assessment and management.
In addition, he stressed the need for corporate culture in financial institutions, in which personal integrity and ethics are consistently emphasised and visibly rewarded.
“Whistle-blowing policies and procedures should be clearly laid out and whistle-blowers should not bevictimised or shamed for doing the right thing. Finally, banks must ensure that their in-house Know-Your-Customers procedures and processes are consistent across all their different platforms to ensure uniformity of information and allow for easier detection of identity duplication or theft and possible fraudulent activities by customers,” he added.
He, however, pointed out that the ongoing bank verification number would also play a major role in the fight against e-fraud, noting that the Central Bank of Nigeria has been actively taking steps to improve the process of monitoring electronic transactions.
Nigeria has experienced a remarkable increase adoption of electronic transactions with volume and value accounting for 86 per cent and 82 per cent of all transactions respectively in 2014, up from a mere six per cent in 2013. Data showed that Nigerians are increasingly embracing cashless transactions.

 

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