Cyber-Criminals going by several names in Nigeria, such 419 or Yahoo-Yahoo have so far been able to fleece Nigeria banks of about N237 billion since 2007 using the electronic payment channels have stolen about from Nigerian banks.
Country Manager, Accenture, Niyi Yusuf, who made this know at the 2017 annual payment systems and fraud conference organised by the E-Payment providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN) revealed that the e-payment sector was at the risk of huge losses.
Yusuf who was one of the lead presenters at the forum were discussions woven around the theme: ‘Leveraging Big Data Analytics in Combating Payment Fraud.’noted that as technology grows, the fraudsters also become sophisticated leveraging the pervasive Internet access, stating that since 2007, about N237 billion has been at the risk of fraud.
“As the adoption of e-payment rose in Nigeria, so also the amount lost to fraud. Only 12 per cent of fraud happens across the counters while the remaining 88 per cent is online,” he said.
According to him, the emerging trends in the financial industry will make combating fraud tougher and more essential in the next five to 10 years.
But Chairman, Lambeth Trust Limited and member, board of trustees, E-PPAN, Mr. Tunde Lemo, said with increasing transactions, stakeholders have to come together to face tougher challenges in combating electronic fraud (e-fraud).
In his thoughts, Deputy Governor, Operations, CBN, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, challenged the players in the e-payment sector to take security measures very seriously, promising that the apex bank would continue to implement policy framework that will continue to engender secure cashless transactions in the country.
Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH), Mr. Dele Adeyinka, observed that the rising volume of transactions across different payment channels meant that “we need to constantly look for ways to ensure the e-channels are much more secure for people to transact without fear of losing their money.”
According to Head, Industry Security Services, NIBSS, Mr. Olufemi Fadairo all the e-payment channels available in the country, including ATM, web and mobile account for 77 % of fraud incidences.
He therefore tasked stakeholders on the need to consolidate data in the industry towards mitigating fraud incidences.
Country Director, Visa, Kemi Okusanya, emphasised the need to strengthen security of digital platforms, noting that the proliferation of devices that now use Internet to access e-payment transactions is an indication that the future will continue to be mobile and “we all have a duty to collaborate to ensure we secure those platforms.”
She noted that 1.9 million records are stolen everyday with 53 per cent this linked to actual identities of people. “To secure our future, we must perfect our data, devalue it when necessary and harness it to prevent fraud,” she said.
In her opening remark, Chief Executive Officer of E-PPAN, Mrs. Regha Onajite, called on all stakeholders to leverage big data analytics to prevent fraud while also collaborating with each others in the area of sharing experiences on fraud incidences so as to prevent fraud in the system.
Meanwhile, over N57 trillion transactions are said to have been carried out across different e-payment platforms this year alone.
Other experts who spoke at the event, said over N4 trillion cheque transaction has been done, NIP has done N40 trillion, NEFT has recorded N9 trillion, PoS has seen N975 billion, ATM transactions have reached N4.2 trillion while web-based transactions stand at N129 billion this year alone.
They further hinted that the country is facing a tougher time in combating electronic fraud owing to the growth in emerging trends and technologies that make e-payment possible for bank customers.
Isaiah Erhiawarien, West Africa
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