Banking sector intensifies cyber fraud awareness

Ghana’s banking industry is intensifying anti-fraud education as social engineering scams become an increasing cyber security and financial risk. The industry says fraudsters are increasingly exploiting trust, emotions and human behaviour through phishing links, fake calls, deceptive messages and impersonation schemes.

Speaking at a Fraud Awareness Roundtable organised by GCB Bank as part of its Customer Service Month activities, Mrs Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo, Chief Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Officer of GCB Bank, said heightened customer awareness was critical as financial scams became more sophisticated.

She said the programme was aimed at equipping customers with practical knowledge to identify and avoid fraudulent schemes. Mrs Ofori-Dwumfuo said while digital banking had improved convenience, it had also provided new opportunities for fraudsters to target unsuspecting customers.

She said GCB Bank had brought together representatives from the Cyber Security Authority, National Signals Bureau, Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Association of Banks to deepen public understanding of cyber threats and fraud prevention measures.

“We believe that in ensuring that our customers are educated, they will be better suited to ensure that they are not scammed,” she said. Mrs Ofori-Dwumfuo urged customers to verify requests for sensitive information and contact their banks directly whenever they were uncertain about a transaction or communication.

She said continuous public education remained essential to fraud prevention and that GCB Bank was complementing industry-wide campaigns with customer awareness initiatives to promote safe digital banking practices.

Mr John Awuah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, said social engineering had become one of the most significant fraud threats facing the financial services sector. He said modern fraudsters increasingly relied on manipulating trust rather than breaching technological systems. “Fraud is not a respecter of anybody,” he said.

Mr Awuah said cyber criminals targeted people from all walks of life and took advantage of moments of distraction, kindness and trust.

He called on banks, payment service providers, fintech firms, telecommunications companies and other stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and intelligence-sharing to improve the recovery of funds lost through fraud.

Mr Awuah said institutions must work collectively to make cybercrime less profitable by increasing the likelihood of tracing and recovering stolen funds.

**By Jibril Abdul Mumuni **

**GNA **

The post Banking sector intensifies cyber fraud awareness appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.