Most banking sector frauds committed by insiders, says EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says that the majority of frauds in the banking sector were committed by insiders, especially information and communication technology (ICT) employees. 

Abbah Sambo, head of cybercrime section, EFCC, representing Abdulrasheed Bawa, the commission’s chairman, said this at a two-day national seminar in Abuja on Wednesday.

The seminar is on banking and allied matters for judges organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute.

According to Sambo, the increasing rate of cybercrime despite efforts by the commission to curb the practice was regretful.

Sambo said that in previous years, young people involved in cybercrime were not ICT-savvy, but times had changed as ICT graduates were now proponents of the crime. 

He also ascribed the heightened perpetuation of cybercrime to moral perversion and peer group influence.

“The rate at which young men are perpetrating cybercrime is seriously alarming,” Sambo said.

“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.”

Sambo further said that paucity of knowledge was the greatest challenge in fighting cybercrime, noting that the criminals were getting more sophisticated.

He said the criminals were highly skilled in communicating seamlessly, thereby sharing knowledge, unlike law enforcement agencies.

“A lot of the people trying to combat the crime in the field tend to lack the drive because they do not have the adequate training,’’ he said.

He emphasized the need for accelerated sensitisation and engagement with youths to educate them on the ills of crime, especially starting from the secondary school level.”