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Banks Battle Fraudsters over Fake Alerts

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Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country are stepping up measures to check the activities of fraudsters who defraud some Nigerians through fake bank alerts scam.

 

According to findings by New Telegraph, banks have been getting increasing reports of fraudsters using fake bank SMS notifications to dupe their (banks’) customers.

 

According to sources, while most bank customers sign up for SMS notifications as these help account holders track movement in their accounts, fraudsters pose as potential buyers of goods or services provided by the bank customer and after both parties have agreed on a price, send fake SMS’s indicating they have deposited money into the sellers’ account.

 

The criminals usually count on their target, believing the SMS is real and would not bother to confirm with his/her bank before releasing the goods.

 

Commenting on the issue, a top official of a new generation bank, who did not want to be named, said that lenders were concerned about the development and were mulling measures to address it. He revealed that one of the steps being considered was for banks to change the format of their SMS notifications in such a way that these alerts will contain security features that will be impossible for fraudsters to copy.

 

The official explained that the current format of bank alerts could be easily duplicated by fraudsters who send the fake alert to their target in the same manner bulk SMS are sent.

 

The said: “It is very easy these days for anyone who wants to send a fake bank alert to do this by closely studying the format in which the target’s bank sends its alerts. When the fraudster masters the format, he can, just by using Google search, send a fake alert to the target’s phone.”

 

Stressing that cybercrime, particularly in Internet banking, remains high, the official advised people to always double  check any alert they receive from their bank.

 

 

 

“Any person receiving a credit alert should contact their account officers or someone in the bank to confirm the transaction. People can also look at their bank statement to make sure that the money was in fact deposited,” the official stated, adding that people must be extremely cautious, especially when they receive a bank alert that is occasioned by a transaction with a person that is not too well known to them.

 

Also, in a chat with this newspaper, head, operations at a Lagos branch of a Tier 2 bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that fraud is so rampant in the system that account holders should always ensure that they cross check all SMS notifications that they get with their financial institutions.

 

The official said: “Fake bank alerts is not really a new scam. In fact, fraudsters have so upgraded their ‘skills’ that the advice I usually give to customers is to ensure that they have someone in the bank that they can ask to confirm any transaction on their accounts. Only recently, one of our customers complained that a friend of his, from whom he  had purchased a product, claimed that the payment did not hit his account a week after the transaction was done.

 

“Meanwhile, our records showed that the funds actually left our bank and that the seller’s account ought to have been credited. When we requested him (seller) to produce his bank statement, he actually brought a fake statement that seemed to prove that the money did not hit his account. It took further investigations in collaboration with his bank head office to show that he was lying.”

 

Interestingly, financial experts attribute the rampant fraud in the system to the high level of unemployment in the country. For instance, data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the banking sector recorded 31,736 fraud cases involving the sum of N16.5 billion between January 2014 and December 2016.

 

The fraud statistics, which are contained in the Nigerian Electronic Fraud Report, prepared by CBN’s Banking and Systems Payment Department, indicate that the frauds were perpetrated through various payment channels in the banking sector such as Across the Counter, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), cheques, Internet banking, mobile banking, Point-of-Sale and web transactions.

 

The study stated that in the last three years, there had been more attempts in the number of fraud cases, adding that the development might be linked to the economic hardship being experienced in the country.

 

Specifically, the report stated that the volume of fraud cases rose by 635.3 per cent from 1,461 incidents in 2014 to 10,743 in 2015. Between 2015 and 2016, the report stated that the incidents of fraud rose by 81.8 per cent from 10,743 to 19,532 cases.


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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E-Financial

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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E-Financial

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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