The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has alerted the public to a curious increase in the circulation of misleading communication falsely linked to the apex bank.
The apex bank’s acting director of corporate communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, who issued the warning, called for heightened alert on digital interactions. The CBN warning suggests an increase in cybercrime attempts.
Cybercrime is any crime perpetrated with information technology (IT) including internet. Cybercriminals use computers, mobile phones and their networks in their operations. The crime involves fraudulent electronic mails, identity theft, hacking, ATM fraud, BVN scams, among others.
Cybercrime is a threat to financial assets, private information and even personal safety. It threatens business operations and institutions as cybercriminals hack into database to steal or corrupt protected information.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) wishes to alert members of the public to the circulation of fraudulent messages, e-mails and online communications purporting to originate from or be associated with the bank, which are intended to misinform the public”, said the CBN.
The apex bank warned that the fraudulent messages are designed to manipulate recipients into disclosing their personal data often by clicking on malicious links or believing false claims about the bank’s operations.
Some of the misleading messages would call on recipients to click malicious websites to respond to mischievous request. Recipients are threatened that their accounts would be blocked by the apex bank if they fail to provide the required information.
“Such cyber threats are becoming sophisticated, with perpetrators leveraging digital platforms to spread misinformation and gain unauthorised access to sensitive financial information”, the CBN warned.
It added that “These fraudulent messages which prompt recipients to click links, peddle false information about the bank’s leadership, licensing and policy issues, and are intended to hack personal accounts”.
The apex bank therefore warned people to rely only on trusted sources for updates on the bank’s activities, emphasising that its website www.cbn.gov.ng was the only authentic website.
The CBN stressed that bank account holders should verify the authenticity of any communication attributed to CBN or its official website before taking action.
They were also encouraged to report suspected fraudulent activities to the relevant law enforcement authorities. The apex bank emphasised the need for collective vigilance in combating cybercrime.
Ali however stressed that CBN enhances cyber security infrastructure in collaboration with other agencies to protect the public. Blueprint is worried that the curious increase in cyber attack attempts in banks are recorded after the CBN recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) to combat electronic fraud linked to mobile numbers.
The apex bank and the NCC recently signed the MoU to tackle SIM-related crimes and strengthen consumer protection across the digital system.
The fraudsters’ increasing exploits of digital channels to target individuals and institutions is an indication that greater awareness and preventive measures were urgently needed.
It is worrisome that several years after the National Identity Commission (NIC) stampeded Nigerians to register their phone SIM cards with the aim of using the emerging identities to stamp out cyber crimes the anomaly has become so unbearable that the apex bank had to raise an alarm in utter helplessness.
The CBN alarm is interpreted by pundits as an indication that the apex bank was overwhelmed by the activities cybercriminals.
This newspaper believes that the situation should not deteriorate to that level if the MoU between the CBN and NCC was executed effectively.
It is however worrisome to note that several years after Nigerians were stampeded with threats of losing their bank accounts into queues under the scourging sun and pelting rains to register their SIM cards, cybercriminals are still tormenting innocent holders of bank accounts.
Besides, the NCC, the regulator of the telecoms industry, once imposed a penalty of billions of naira on MTN, Nigeria’s leading mobile telecommunications operator, for allowing millions of phone subscribers on its network without due registration. The network was forced to jettison the unregistered lines.
Despite all those rigorous measures to ensure that every owner of a phone line is duly registered, it is frightening to hear the apex bank raise alarm about cybercrime with the use of registered SIMs.
One is compelled to ask what the respective law enforcement agencies do with the registration of telephone subscribers. It is obvious that the lines used for the cybercrime attempts reported by the apex bank are all registered. Why are they being used to perpetrate crimes with impunity if the law enforcement agencies could easily track the owners of the lines?
We are worried by the alarm from the CBN after the MoU signed with NCC to protect the bank accounts of innocent Nigerians. This newspaper enjoins CBN and NCC to relentlessly track cybercriminals with their registered SIM cards.