- FCMB, Diamond Bank, Skye Bank top complaints list
- Depositors, NGO threaten to champion banks’ boycott
- We’ll no longer condone malpractices – EFCC
Nigerians lost over N200 billion to electronic fraud, cyber crime and other forgery related cases, especially in financial institutions, between January and September 2017, investigations by The Point have revealed.
The figures, which were obtained from reliable sources at the apex bank and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, represented an increase of about 60 per cent in nine monthsalone, indicating that it could hit the roof by the end of the year as more fraud related crimes are expected to be perpetrated towards the end of the year.
The reported fraud related cases are e-fraud, identity theft, illegal and multiple deductions, fraudulent withdrawals, excess charges, illegal diversion of fund of unsuspected depositors, Automated Teller Machine fraud and dishonoured cheques, among others.
Based on trend and human perception, it is believed that fraud rates in Nigeria usually increase towards the end of the year as a result of demands associated with several festivities around the period.
For instance, the month of October recorded the highest fraud volume in 2015 and 2016, followed by March and June.
Exploring reported fraud events within the period under review, while fraud perpetrated through hackers and ATM recorded the highest volume, across-the-counter fraud recorded the highest actual loss value.
Top on the list of banks with high incidence of complaints, according to documents obtained by our correspondent, are: First City Monument Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, and Skye Bank Plc, for the second time in two years.
Despite the directive of the apex bank to the commercial banks to establish industry fraud desks and send all electronic interbank transactions to the Central Anti-Fraud Solution, the fraud cases have been on the increase.
While they increased from 10,743 as at 2015 to 19,531 by the end of 2016, the number of cases rose to about 25,200 at the end of September 2017.
Investigations by The Point revealed that a total number of 1,080 individuals benefited from fraudulent transactions consummated across the counter as well as through ATM, Internet Banking, Mobile and e-Commerce.
Despite several awareness and tips by CBN about Biometric Verification Number watch list, some financial institutions, it was gathered, refused to send the BVNs of their customers, who had been involved in fraudulent acts for watch listing.
Out of the 1,080 individuals, only 217 BVNs were sent to NIBSS for watch listing, which is only about 21 per cent of supposed watch listed numbers.
The figure rose from N127 billion, reported to the Central Bank of Nigeria and other anti-graft agencies in 2016, to over N200 billion across commercial banks, e-commerce and other financial platforms, at the end of the third quarter of 2017
WE’LL BOYCOTT BANKING FOR ONE DAY – CAFON
Meanwhile, the President, Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria, Ms. Sola Salako-Ajulo, told The Point that there were plans to persuade bank customers to avoid all banking transactions for one day.
“There should be no visit to the Automated Teller Machines or the banking halls that day,” Salako-Ajulo said.
She said she would lead consumers in protest against recent illegal deductions, e-fraud and other forgery cases that had created holes in the finances of innocent Nigerians.
The CAFON founder said, “For many years now, customers of banking services have endured excessive charges, unexplained fees, multiple charges and other fraudulent acts that have been forced down the throats of customers by the banks.
Banks debit customers’ accounts at will for charges we never agreed to or were not aware of; they charge us for everything; some banks are charging N210 for the use of deposit and transfer forms in their branches! Thousands of customers have been victims of ATM fraud because the banking industry failed in its duty of educating and informing consumers of the inherent dangers in online banking at commencement.
“These incessant multiple charges are even more prevalent on loan accounts, while many banks have also taken advantage of the CBN’s fluctuating forex policy to charge customers exchange rates that far exceed the CBN rates without even notifying the customers of the rates before the transactions.”
Salako also decried the role of the CBN in constantly changing policies without notice, instead of carrying out its responsibility of regulating the sector as well as protecting customers from exploitation, adding that, under the current management of the apex bank, abolished fees were being reintroduced.
The apex bank must save thousands of unsuspecting Nigerian from the claws of Deposit Money Banks that fleece them of their hard earned money. Some of the account officers are allies of fraudsters as they give them information of their clients
OVERHAUL INTERNAL BANKING PROCESSES, Experts tell CBN
Industry experts have, however, tasked most banks to do a complete overhaul of their internal control. As far as they are concerned, the banks’ largely weak control system, especially with regard to the ATM and internet banking, has a grave consequence for public confidence and acceptance of payment instruments.
In most cases, the experts observed that the CBN, commercial banks and service providers were not proactive in sharing fraud data amongst themselves to enable prompt responses to prevent or limit fraud losses.
An impeccable source in the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum, a group created by the CBN to tame fraud in the sector, told The Point that the sector lacked the required cohesive and effective fraud/risk management strategies as well as key requirements for e-payment security.
“The sector lacks the required fraud mitigating policies. Most banks’ internal control system lack standard processes like regulation of card-present fraud in Non-Europay, MasterCard and Visa environment and the creation of fraud desks for effective e-fraud control. These measures need to be supported still with additional information security compliance that will tackle the threats that emerge as a result of the ever-increasing changes in our payments system,” he said.
The Managing Partner, Forensic Consult, Mr. Ori Adeyemo, also told The Point that he had different fraud related cases against financial institutions like Union Bank Plc, FCMB, First Bank Plc and Skye Bank, among others, in high courts in Lagos, Rivers, Kaduna, Imo, Kwara and others across major cities in Nigeria.
Adeyemo alleged, “Scores of my clients have charged the banks for illegal deductions, multiple loan charges, ATM fraud, multiple account maintenance charges, and missing funds, among others. In most cases, we give them few months to refund but if that fails, we go to court and we win.
“The apex bank must save thousands of unsuspecting Nigerian from the claws of Deposit Money Banks that fleece them of their hard earned money. Some of the account officers are allies of fraudsters as they give them information of their clients, especially when they are out of town.
“For instance, the sum of N200,000 was deducted from a client’s FCMB account when he had not issued any cheque in that regard. A few months later, we found that the money was transferred by an insider to a friend in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. When the manager was asked questions, he could not answer but was just blabbing.”
We’re poised to tackle menace – EFCC
The EFCC has, however, warned managements of banks that it will no longer be business as usual for some of them that engage in/or encourage fraud-related
issues.
The Head, Operations, EFCC, Benin Zone, Mr. Mailafia Yakubu, charged compliance officers of banks to collaborate with the commission in tackling economic and financial crimes.
Yakubu said the development was due to the unscrupulous activities of some bankers, who connived with fraudsters to defraud innocent people of their hard-earned money.
He said, “There have been cases where bank officials deliberately ignored EFCC’s Post No Debit (PND) orders on suspect’s account or inform suspect about the PND to enable them make withdrawals using their ATM cards.
“Bankers should uphold the tenet and principles of banking, because making excuses after an offence had been committed will not be condoned. I am not intimidating anyone but seeking their support in curbing corruption. Whatever I do, will be according to the law. Corruption is a canker worm that is threatening our existence as a nation; the earlier we join hands to deal with it, the better
for us all.”
Meanwhile, the commission said it had prosecuted hundreds of bank fraud-related cases across the country.
The Head, Media, EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had disclosed that one of such was the conviction of a former manager of a Skye Bank branch in Jos, Plateau State, Mr. Tajudeen Yusuf, by Justice Ambrose Alagwa of the Federal High Court 1, Jos.
“The convict, who was prosecuted on a 5-count charge, allegedly defrauded Alhaji Usman Tetengi, a customer of the bank, to the tune of N200 million, when he issued him a fake deposit certificate and diverted the money for personal use,” he disclosed.
Another case, according to him, was the return of the sum of N36.18 million to the Proprietress of Jephtah International School, East-West Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwuogo. He said that the commission recovered the money from three suspected fraudsters, who allegedly diverted the school’s money for their private use.
The suspects are: Ms. Cyril Idakwoji, an account officer of one of the new generation banks (Access Bank Plc) that issued doctored statements of account to the school in a bid to cover up his nefarious act; Boma Chisom, who posed as the Customer Relations Officer of the bank and Aderemi Adebayo Moses, who printed the fake documents.
MENACE, AN ADDED BURDEN – FG
The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, told The Point that financial crimes and corruption were added burdens to the national security challenges threatening the existence and development of the
country.
Shittu said, “Our growing dependence on digital infrastructure introduces and poses grave threats to national security. Nigeria loses about 0.08 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, yearly, to cybercrime alone.
“Evidence abounds of the growing electronic fraud and threats to digital databases, both private and government. In view of the critical nature of the economy and government activities, it is obvious that protection from different types of cyber and terrorist attacks is required,” he
said.
To address emerging cyber threats, Shittu said the government had set up computer emergency response teams through the Office of the National Security Adviser and the National Information Technology Development Agency to curb the menace.
