E-Financial
Panic as Bankers, Fraudsters Empty Customers’ Accounts
Disturbing revelations at the weekend suggested that a worrying fraud scheme-the theft customers’ ID data by employees of financial institutions is on the rise.
Investigations showed that insiders in financial institutions in Nigeria are increasingly taking advantage of highly confidential information of customers and trading same to outsiders for illegal profits.
Experts said that the fraud ring involve longtime employees and top performers who abuse their positions of trust and exploit their access to multiple areas and systems of the banks’ systems.
With the help of people on the inside, the fraud ring are now able to recruit people to assume stolen identities and withdraw funds because they knew the banks affected did not have sufficient technology and security to safeguard the customers’ information or alert the institutions when it was stolen.
In another scheme, bank customers are promised shares of mouthwatering but fake riches in return for details of their bank accounts which are subsequently emptied.
There is also phishing mails that are, but not limited to Advance fee fraud, purchase frauds, counterfeit postal money orders, online automotive fraud, counterfeit cashier’s check scam, cash the check system, PayPal Fraud, business opportunity or “Work-at-Home” schemes, money transfer fraud, dating fraud, and charity fraud and boisterous employment promises.
Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi Lagos, said that from January this year, the unit investigated about 600 cases of fraud in financial institutions.
In all the cases, the frauds were committed in connivance with bank staff.
This came as the US State Department’s ‘Money Laundering Report 2013’ dubbed Nigeria as ‘a significant center for criminal financial activity.’
Matt Baechtle, leading a team of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the department of homeland security, to collaborate with SFU for the purpose of fine-tuning measures on how to tackle the threat posed by cyber-attackers, said that internet fraudsters and corrupt officials and business people, as well as criminal and terrorist organisations are allegedly taking advantage of the country’s location, porous borders, weak laws and lack of enforcement to perpetrate cyber-crime.
The introduction of the Money Laundering Act in February represents some of the milestones recorded by Nigeria in her chase to combat cyber-threat; however, more needed to be done to delist the country from being counted among the world’s 59 most vulnerable cyber prone countries.
Ogunsakin also identified problems and challenges in handling bank frauds to include lack of well equipped forensic laboratories, lack of data base of criminals, inadequate legislation, cost of investigation, inadequate working tools, inadequate collaboration with private sector and inadequate international collaborative framework.
Speaking during International Data Corporation (IDC) road-show 2013 held in Lagos recently, Andy Norton, Threat Intelligence Architect, FireEye, noted that today’s cybercriminals, aided by their targets’ porous defenses and unwitting end users are able to deliver advanced malware that exploits systems and enables a range of malicious activities.
According to him, much of this advanced malware is being delivered via emails with malicious file attachments, adding that presently the criminals are distributing files, specifically those that are effectively bypassing traditional security defenses such as firewalls, next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), anti-virus (AV), and secure gateways.
He quoted Gartner’s earlier warning that “Organizations face an evolving threat scenario that they are ill-prepared to deal with….threats that have bypassed their traditional security protection techniques and reside undetected on their systems.”
Study carried by the Organisation also showed that 40% of all IT executives expect a major cybersecurity incident, while there are 9,000+ malicious websites identified per day.
Also every second 14 adults become victims of cyber crime and 95 new vulnerabilities are discovered per week.
“99% of breaches led to compromise within “days” or less with 85% leading to data exfiltration in the same time and 85% of breaches took “weeks” or more to discover. And some of the attacked are spurred by Download Stages,” he said.
Analysts have suggested that some IPS/IDS/NGFW vendors are no better at handling evasions today than they were when they released their original products, just as widening gap between hacker capabilities and security defenses put pressure on security organizations who struggle to keep up with the changing nature, complexity, and scale of attacks.
On her part, Lise Hagen, research manager, Software & IT Services, Africa, suggested that risk should become the main agenda to justify IT Security investments.
The essential guides or wining strategy should involve implementation of user awareness & education, spend smarter, initiate a metric-based approach, create a risk portfolio and plan, update, enforce, security policies.
The sixteenth season of DiamondXtra, a savings and reward account where customers of Access Bank are rewarded with several prizes, have been unveiled in Lagos.
L – R : Doris Okpara, Product Manager, DiamondXtra; Ngozi Igboanugo, Regional sales Manager Festac 1&2 & mainland Access Bank; Bolarinwa Animashaun, Regional Sales Director Lagos 2 Access Bank ; Emeka Ezikeugo, Diamondxtra N200,000 Onsite winner; and Adaeze Ume, Head Consumer liabilities, Access Bank during the launch of Diamondxtra Season 16 held at Alaba International Market Lagos yesterday.
The Season 16th of the special interest yielding hybrid account which allows deposit of both cash and third-party cheques has been upgraded as customers will win prizes to the value of N200 million and three SUVs, amongs other mouthwatering prizes.
Speaking at the unveiling in Alaba International Market, Lagos, Mr Bolarinwa Animashaun, regional sales director, Lagos, said the new season will bring more goodies to the customers as the bank has taken their interest at heart.
“In the last fifteen years, we have been able to ensure customer loyalty, reward committed customers over time and show that we are a bank that is ready to empower people and partner with people.
“If I take it into specific figures, we have rewarded 26,696 customers and we’ve given a total sum of N6.5 billion over the period.
This Season16is interesting, because, we have seen a lot of opportunities to expand into digital opportunities and this time around, we will be rewarding 15,786 customers, and 10,000 of them will be digitally rewarded.
“This is almost half of what we have done over the last 15 years. So that is what is making it special. We have takenit into the possibilities of how technology can expand our business and reward customers”.
The draws for the new season are going to be the same like the previous ones as it will be held in different regions.
“So, we start from the monthly draws, quarterly draws and the annual draws. What makes it extremely interesting this year is that we will be rewarding with up to N200 million in prizes and we have added some very interesting gifts. We will be given out three SUVs as part of the N200 million price for this year”, Animashaun added.
At the unveiling, Access Bank conducted onsite draws where 48 customers who have DiamondXtra accounts and were present at the unveiling won cash prizes ranging from N20,000 to N200,000.
Breakdown shows 40 customers won N20,000 each, five customers won N50,000, two customers won N100,000, while one customer went home with N200,000.
Among winners of the N20,000 prize was Mr Victor Edobor, who said he opened the DiamondXtra accounts 24-hours before the draws.
One of the two winners of the N100,000 prize, Mrs. Maureen Nneka Oforka, said she was surprised to have won at the well-attended event as that was her first time winning any prize.
She said, “I have never won any prize in my life. This is my first. I came here reluctantly and thank God, I am here and I am a winner of N100,000 which has already been paid into my account.
The grand prize winner of N200,000, Mr. Emeka Ezikeugo, a trader in Alaba, said. “I will forever be grateful to Access Bank for the prize as I was not expecting it. I thank the bank for showing leadership among its peers”.
To be part of the winning train and qualify for the DiamondXtra season 16 which is open to both new and existing customers, new customers are required to open a DiamondXtra savings account with just N5,000 by dialling *901*5# or walking into one of our branches to open the account.
However, the more multiples of N5,000 both new and old customers save, the higher their chances of winning at the monthly, quarterly and annual draws.
DiamondXtra is an interest yielding hybrid account which allows deposit of both cash and third party cheques. Hybrid means a combination of both savings and current account features. The DiamondXtra reward scheme has given away over N6.5 billion in cash and household items to over 15,000 loyal customers over the last 15years. Please click HERE to learn more.
Recognising the underrepresentation of women in the technology sector, Lafarge Africa Plc, has launched the Girls in Tech Program, a pioneering initiative aimed at empowering young women in technology.
Meticulously crafted to bridge the gender gap in tech and empower 10 young females between the ages of 18-25 years from Lafarge Africa Host communities in Cross River State, the program is poised to make a significant impact in the region.
The Girls in Tech Program seeks to harness the unique talents of these young women and introduce them to the dynamic world of technology. By providing them with essential skills and opportunities, the initiative aspires to equip them to become self-reliant as well as problem solvers in society.
In collaboration with Aptech and Arena Multimedia,globally recognized leaders in technology incubation and opportunity, as well as The Bridge Leadership Foundation, the boot camp promises to be a transformative experience for the participating girls, who are eager to make their mark in the tech industry.
Speaking during the onboarding to flag-off in Calabar recently, the Plant Manager, Lafarge Africa Plc, Sotirios Valsamakis, who was represented by the Human Resources Business Partner, Lafarge Africa Plc; Barong Ita, revealed that the program was in line with the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
She also added that the initiative is designed to ignite a spark of inspiration, hope, and possibilities in the heart of the selected girls across the host communities.
“As an organization, people are an integral part of our sustainability drive, and we are invested in building lasting progress by empowering members of our host communities. We also recognize the need for greater and greener diversity and inclusivity within the tech sector.”
Today’s event is not just about launching a program. It is about igniting a spark of inspiration, hope, and possibilities in the hearts of these young women. It is about challenging stereotypes.”
Also speaking at the event, the Cross Rivers State Commissioner for Science, Innovation & Technology, Justin Beshel represented by Edwin Adie, Technical Senior Advisor, Cross Rivers State Ministry of Science & Technology commended Lafarge Africa for the initiative adding that it is in line with the State government’s plan towards science, technology and innovation development.
As the country faces economic challenges, the need for adaptive strategies in the fintech industry becomes paramount. In line with this, leading Fintech startup, Hydrogen Payment Services Limited (‘Hydrogen’), has teamed up with Co-creation Hub (‘CcHub’) to host an insightful event themed, ‘Adapting Fintech Business Models to Economic Climes’.
The event, set to take place on Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 12:00 WAT at the CcHub office in Sabo, Lagos, will delve deep into the intricacies of Nigeria’s economic challenges and how these influence the fintech ecosystem.
Participants will gain actionable insights on how to adapt fintech business models to volatile economic conditions by prioritising flexibility, agility, and customer-centricity.
This collaboration underscores the shared commitment of both entities to empower aspiring founders venturing into the Fintech space amidst economic uncertainties.
By leveraging their respective expertise and resources, Hydrogen and CcHub aim to equip emerging entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and support needed to thrive in today’s dynamic economic conditions.
Emeka Awagu, Chief Technology Officer at Hydrogen, commented on the strategic partnership with CcHUB: “Our alliance with CcHUB amplifies our shared commitment to pioneering transformative solutions in Nigeria’s fintech sector.
“By leveraging Hydrogen’s technological expertise alongside CcHUB’s innovative approach, we are primed to set a new standard for fintech excellence and drive impactful change across the industry.”
The event will feature a distinguished panel of industry experts and thought leaders, including, Ina Alogwu, Group Director, Digital Transformation, ARM HoldCo; Emeka Awagu, Chief Technology Officer, Hydrogen, and Miracle Ezechi, Digital Marketing Manager, Hydrogen.
The panel discussion will be moderated to encourage an engaging and insightful conversation on the strategies and innovations required to thrive in Nigeria’s Fintech landscape amidst economic challenges.
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