Most bank frauds perpetrated by insiders – EFCC

By Ginika Okoye

The Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared in Abuja, yesterday, that most frauds in the banking sector were perpetrated by insider Information, Communication Technology (ICT) employees.

Head, Cybercrime Section of the EFCC, Mr Abbah Sambo, made the declaration at a national seminar on Banking and Allied Matters for judges.

Sambo represented the EFCC chairman, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, at the seminar.

He said that most banking sector fraud handled by the commission showed that bank employees aided the acts. He also expressed regret at the increasing rate of cybercrime in spite of efforts by the commission to tackle it.

Sambo observed that in year past, young people involved in cybercrime were not ICT savvy, but, today, it is ICT graduates who are the champions in perpetrating the crime.

He attributed the increase in cybercrime to moral decadence and peer group influence.

“The rate at which young men are perpetrating cybercrime is seriously alarming. When we arrest these criminals, one major reason they give for going into the crime is peer influence.

“Their friends are into it and they want to run with guys that drive the best cars and have the best girls in town. Most times when we arrest these criminals, we find them with a lot of assets that are registered in the names of their parents.

“Cars in the names of their mothers and houses in the names of their fathers. There is a fundamental issue relating to decay in moral coverage in the society,’’ he said.

Sambo said that the greatest challenge in fighting cybercrime was knowledge gap, noting that the criminals were getting more sophisticated. He said the criminals had the ability to talk to one other seamlessly by sharing knowledge, unlike law enforcement agencies.

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He stressed the need for adequate sensitisation and engagement with youths, especially from secondary school level, to let them know the ills of crime.