Dike Onwuamaeze writes on efforts by banks to protect customers from the activities of fraudsters in the financial system who are on the prowl
The Director, Payment System Management at the Central Bank of Nigeria , Sam Okojere, had at the Access Bank Anti-Fraud Week forum held in Lagos last year, assured that the apex bank would come out with guidelines for the operation of financial technology companies and payment service banks in order to prevent fraud and make the financial system safer for all.
Okojere had said: “A new BVN guideline should be coming out any moment from now. When the exposure draft is released, I will encourage you to make a suggestion regarding your area of concern. “We must go beyond educating customers on the protection of crucial information to actual data protection and integrity amongst operators and stakeholders,” Wigwe said.
Earlier in April this year, the CBN also issued a fraud alert about the activities of cyber-criminals who are taking advantage of the current coronavirus pandemic to defraud citizens. It added that they often come under the guise of government officials, social advocates and false NGOs allocated to share the relief fund that was promised by the government. This, unfortunately, is a fraudulent scheme and given the current state of affairs, an easy scam to fall for.
To this end, the bank urged customers to remain vigilant and beware of the common tricks used by fraudsters to rob them of their monies. “The bank has identified smishing, phishing, social engineering, and identity theft as the most common methods used by fraudsters. To aid the fight against this common enemy, we have put more power in the hands of our customers, through the *901*911# USSD code.