ATM FRAUD ALARMING -STRATEGIST WARN

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Fraud and Money Laundering prevention strategist, Richard Kumadoe says ATM and Payment Card fraud remains “a top challenge for financial institutions in the country.”

Mr. Kumadoe, who is the Executive Director of Quest Services Ltd, a due diligence & risk management center said “criminals are acquiring sophisticated equipment that enable them to hawk the various ATMs and steal customers personal data or information to perpetrate fraud.”

He told BUSINESS GUIDE yesterday that the activities of the criminals had made most banks and customers vulnerable.

He said that although financial institutions have a unique role to play in protecting consumers' identities, the strategies deployed to prevent ID theft and ATM fraud appear not to be enough, explaining “the ATMs fraud phenomena has led stealing of personal customers identity and the creation of synthetic identities.

“The latest breach has resulted in some few arrests; however, the Global Payments Card issuers and users continue to absorb increasing losses linked to debit and credit fraud, as they have little control over the third-party points of compromise.

Mr. Kumadoe attributed the rise in ATM and payment card fraud to “individual data breaches, financial institutions’ inability to invest in appropriate technology and the Central Bank / Regulator unwillingness to create the right environment.

“As financial sector and industrial control systems and processes are increasing, organised crime groups have embraced cybercrime, and governments and financial institutions are scrambling to keep up. Another facet to the problem is that hackers are freely distributing cybercrime tools and advice.

He said there should be a “comprehensive understanding of customer needs and how the overall systems and functions of the financial institutions can be used to solve the growing and ever-changing problems of Payment Card Fraud / ATM fraud as part of their financial crime risk management, especially in Ghana.”

“How financial institutions are fighting back with behavioral analytics, merchant/customer education campaigns and detection technologies that trace ATMs Fraud back to the point of compromise is key.

Mr. Kumadoe said financial institutions “must keep pace with evolving ATM cyber threats to ensure they are prepared to respond effectively, efficiently and defensibly when they detect fraudulent activities.”