The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that electronic banking fraud in Nigeria will hit N6.1 trillion by 2021. This was made known by CBN’s Director of Consumer Protection Department, Sunday Salam-Alada.
While speaking at the ongoing workshop for Business Editors and Finance Correspondents organised by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in Benin, Salam-Alada said the volume and value of e-transactions are projected to continue to increase nationally and globally.
Salam-Alada, represented by Mr Ibrahim Hassan, Director of Research, Policy, International Relations Department at NDIC, said it was due to broader ecosystem scope, the evolution of channels, adaptability to disruptive innovations and modes payment.
According to him, other reasons included increased inclusion and evolving technologies.
Nairametrics had reported that in view of addressing losses that emanate from cybercrime and technology risk in the financial sector, the CBN was considering revamping the modalities of banking regulations.
The apex bank through its Deputy Governor, CBN, Aishah Ahmad, stressed the need to redesign regulations that will address cybercrimes and technological risks that may arise from emerging modern financial firms in the country.
Cybercrimes: Nigerian banks and customers are at risk
Meanwhile, a notorious hacker, Michael Thompson Williams, who was arrested in May this year in Lagos by the Nigeria Police, revealed how susceptible Nigerian banks are to cyber attacks. He described Nigerian banks as very easy to hack.
The 28-year-old, who is a qualified Medical Doctor, has mastered the art of using Cyber Ghost 12 to create fake credit cards with which he used to manipulate genuine transactions.
For years, he successfully carried out illegal activities. Prior to his arrest, he had bought a Porsche car valued at ₦28 million and sent a fake credit alert to the dealership using HTTPtunnel.com. Unfortunately for him, he was tracked down and arrested.
Hackers like Williams abound in Nigeria. Daily, these criminals steal money from banks and bank customers alike. Therefore, there is indeed a need for the Central Bank of Nigeria to work together with CIBN towards finding a solution to the problem.