Cybercrime Appears To Be At The Barest Minimum Levels In Nigeria According to The CBN

The fight against fraud, money laundry and other forms of internet scam has been on for a couple of years. In fact, the US consulate intervened a few months ago. It appears now that fraud cases have significantly reduced to the barest minimum in the country, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

At the 2017 retreat of the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum which took place in Ibadan, Oyo state, the CBN took the victory in sanitising the banking sector through a series of measures which it took to prevent hacking into customers’ account which was a norm, leading to the loss of several thousands of dollars in the past.

In attendance at the event were top officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the US Consulate, Lagos, some commercial banks and the Consumers Protection Council.

One of the strategies used to reduce internet crime was the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN) to eliminate fraudulent transactions and so far, there has been an improvement in this area. In fact, the Chairman, Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum, Dipo Fatokun announced that biometrics will now be used to tighten security further.  What this means is that individuals will now be requested to submit their biometrics during transactions and since fingerprints cannot be duplicated. The case of fraudulent transactions will be totally eliminated.

There have been cases of stolen ATM cards in the past and is still ongoing. However, there is a limit to daily withdrawals making it a bit stiff for the fraudsters but not totally safe for owners. Once this is in place, the system will be more secure and all transactions validated.

The CBN further commended the NeFF for recording such achievements in six years, collaboratively with other stakeholders. This achievement indicates a successful implementation of the Cybercrime Prohibition and Prevention Act 2015. Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, acknowledged that in an age of digitalisation, security is a topmost priority and so far the campaign against internet fraud has resulted in a better cooperation between the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the forum stakeholders in the payment industry.

He said further, ‘At the CBN, we shall continue to ensure a safe, reliable, secure and efficient payment system, and our commitments will neither waiver nor dampen in this regard’.

 He concluded that the episode of internet scam via fraudulent transactions will never recover because the stakeholders will continue to implement new strategies to wade off the epidemy.