BoG demands action from banks, SDIs to check fraud
Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed banks and Special Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) to update their technologies and tools with enhanced built-in security features to curb fraud within the sector.
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They are also equally mandated to prioritise employee training, ensure continued due diligence and strengthening of internal controls.
The central directives was contained in its publication of the annual Fraud Report for 2023, which sought to create awareness of fraud occurrences and trends identified within the reporting year, with the view to promote the soundness and integrity of the banking system.
The 2023 report presents fraud typologies observed in relation to services provided by banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
Analysis of the 2023 data showed that fraud heightened in fraudulent withdrawals from victims’ accounts, cyber/email fraud and cash theft (cash suppression).
For instance, data collated from the three sub-sectors -banks, Special Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) and Payment System Providers (PSPs)- indicated that overall, the count of fraud cases increased to 15,865 in 2023 from 15,164 in 2022, reflecting a 5 per cent rise.
These cases corresponded to a total loss value of approximately Gh¢88 million in 2023, as compared to GH¢82 million in 2022, indicating an increase of about 7 per cent.
Areas of concern
Another area of concern is SIM swap-related fraud, where SIM numbers linked to banking accounts are fraudulently taken over and monies subsequently withdrawn from the accounts.
The BoG report said this form of fraud targets individuals who have banking applications on their mobile phones and have linked their bank accounts to mobile money wallets.
Meanwhile, the report said, “While attempted fraud cases in the banking and SDI sectors declined sharply by 59% in 2023 compared to 2022, the total loss value associated with these cases stood at approximately GH¢72 million, a 29% increase over the 2022 figure of GH¢56 million recorded.
The report said the sharp increase in the loss value was influenced by outlier fraud cases involving foreign currencies, which when converted to Cedi, ballooned the 2023 attempted fraud value at loss.
Further directives
Against this background, the central bank again asked banks to strengthen the security protocols for account access and transactions, including multi-factor authentication, as well as regular updates of mobile banking applications with biometric authentication and fix bug issues.