No less than 150 million Nigerians risk being defrauded in the financial system according to the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta.
Danbatta said this during the inauguration of a multi-sectorial committee on e-fraud in Abuja. Punch reported that recent data released by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access disclosed that over 150 million Nigerians were included in the financial system.
The NCC boss stressed that the integration of mobile applications with online payment platforms and other financial resources had made Nigerians more prone to financial fraud.
Dembatta advised that to effectively combat electronic fraud, customer service and fraud operations teams in banks and the mobile network operators need to tighten up their processes and guidelines on how to detect potential fraudulent activities.
Methods put in place to combat fraud: Danbatta disclosed that the NCC is in a partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and other relevant agencies to fight e-fraud. He also stressed that a committee on Electronic Banking is currently working towards implementing technical and operational solutions to fight the menace posed by e-fraud.
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Danbatta, who was represented by Adeleke Adewolu, said that phishing and social engineering had made e-fruad even more prevalent and easier.
“Mobile apps as a whole are now quite easy for hackers and cyber-criminals to hijack or corrupt, making them tools for fraudsters to steal personal credentials, impersonate genuine bank account holders, and gain illicit access to funds.bPhishing tactics and social engineering ploys such as illegal SIM swap are part and parcel of the online fraud mechanism, regardless of whether the transactions are conducted via mobile phone, desktop browser, or point of presence.”
Recall that NCC had previously made a move to checkmate cyber securities issues in Nigeria whilst keeping in touch with global best practices by launching cyber-crime control centres (known as Emergency Control Centres) across the country.