CBN set for framework blacklisting cybercrime fraudsters

Mindful that the value of attempted fraud cases in the banking industry rose to a whopping N4.4 billion in 2016, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to release a policy/framework blacklisting cybercrime fraudsters in the banking system. This, the bank said is in a bid to check growing cybercrime in banks.

Available date from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) show that there was 82 per cent increase in fraud case in 2016 compared to 2015, with an estimated loss of N2.2billion out of N4.4 billion attempted fraud cases. 49 per cent of the amount lost was recovered, but actual loss was reduced by 2.7 per cent compared to 2015.

The Chief Security Officers (CSOs) of banks who disclosed this in a one week Nigerian Financial Sector Global Cyber Security Conference held at Transcorp hotel, Calabar, said with the Biometric Verification Number (BVN), “The idea is that when the framework comes out from CBN, the BVN will become a major tool to fight fraudsters. Our recommendation from this conference is that it should become an instrument to kick fraudsters out of the banking system.” According to them, other legal consideration will be taken care of by that framework for those who defraud individuals in banks and other customers of banks, once the investigation proves that they are fraudsters.

Giving a summary of the conference that attracted mostly Israelis and other nationals as trainers, the Leader of the CSOs, Mr Sam Okenye said, such framework “should become a major instrument to kick those guys out of the banking system.”

From the conference with over 95 participants drawn from various banks, Okenye said “what we noted is that low level of security awareness is a major challenge. Some customers divulge their sensitive information to fraudsters unknowingly. They put a call to them pretending to be calling from a bank and because customers have low-level awareness they disclose sensitive information and fall for fraud. So low security awareness is a challenge, which we are going to tackle as an industry, which is part of what we agreed here.”