Warn against releasing OTPs, PIN numbers
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria have unveiled a new campaign targeted at curbing rising cyber fraud.
The banks, through the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI), in partnership with Cybersafe Foundation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), made public the initiative, tagged ‘NoGoFall Maga, Confam Am Again’.
CCISONFI said some of the tactics used by cybercriminals include phone calls purportedly from a victim’s banks and One-Time-Password (OTP) requests.
The committee affirmed that no bank will ever request ATM PINs or card numbers from customers, noting that many Nigerians have fallen prey to these tactics.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign in Lagos, yesterday, the chairman of CCISONFI, Festus Amede, said because of the increasing number of victims, there was a need to launch the enlightenment campaign, which will be relayed across broadcast stations and on various social media platforms.
Amede said the initiative will promote public awareness on cybersecurity and ultimately reduce cybercrime and financial fraud.
He explained: “Its success is largely centred on strategic partnership with the CBN, Bankers’ Committee, CCISONFI (a committee formed under the guidance of the CBN and made up of Chief Information Security Officers of DMB’s, Payment Service Providers, and Cybersafe Foundation – an independent non-governmental organisation registered under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Noting that the financial industry has witnessed increased adoption of digital technology, with several companies responding to CBN’s financial inclusion initiatives, he lamented that rise in cybercrimes and financial fraud is making customers lose confidence in the financial system.
According to him, “increased innovation and use of digital platforms have greatly transformed the cyber and technology landscape, thereby giving rise to new risks. Loss of such trust and confidence could undermine benefits of the CBN’s financial inclusion and cashless economy or ability to continually leverage technology as an enabler of social and economic development. Hence, there is a need to constantly address related challenges of ensuring continuous cybersecurity and data privacy.”
Also speaking at the event, the chairman of Cybersafe Foundation, Dr. Peter Obadare, said the essence of the initiative was to build a human firewall, in addition to the security firewall being built by financial institutions against fraud.
He said: “When we talk about cybersecurity, most of the time, we know it’s about technology, it’s about the process. And then, of course, it’s about the people. And I usually say that there is no amount of investment you put in the people’s side that can ever go wrong. What we’re doing today is about increasing the cybersecurity intelligence quotient of the populace, which is very important.”
“Yes, we spent so much money building the technology. Yes, we standardised our processes. But most of the time, we find that evil elements still find their way, especially from the customers’ side, hence the need to build a human firewall.
“The reason cybercriminals are succeeding is that they are leveraging the ignorance of the populace. So, I strongly believe that this initiative will go a long way to build that human firewall within Nigerian cyberspace.”
On her part, a member of CCISONFI and Group Chief Information Security Officer, Access Bank, Favour Femi-Oyewole, said the process of initiating the campaign was about two year’s journey, targeting the unbanked and people on the streets, to intimate them on tricks employed by cyber criminals.