Merchants and customers have been urged to remain vigilant
• Merchants and customers have been urged to remain vigilant
• This is to curb the incidents of ATM and card fraud
• The Banking sector has recorded a staggering increase in cyber fraud activities
Merchants providing goods and services in the country have been urged to eschew vigilance in order to curb the growing incidents of ATM or card fraud.
According to Chief Executive of the Bankers Association, John Awuah, vigilance along with enhanced awareness and education on the part of merchants and customers are key to curbing ATM or card fraud.
“We are talking to our merchants, we are urging them to be vigilant and ensure that when they are processing transactions they should make sure people around them are trusted people. There could be a customer who is just nosing around trying to steal card details from other unsuspecting customers. A lack of vigilance could lead to card details being stolen and used in a manner that can lead to financial loss for customers and even the merchants,” Awuah told Citi Business News.
“All in all there are other things that can be done to reduce ATM or card fraud like training for merchants, training for card users and general education on the safety of ATM cards,” he added.
Meanwhile, a 2020 Banking Industry Fraud report showed a staggering increase in the value of cyber-related fraud in Ghana’s financial sector.
The sector recorded over 400 percent from 2019 to 2020 of cyber fraud activities.
Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions recorded about GH¢1 billion in the value of cyber-related fraud in 2020.
Out of the reported amount, the value of attempted cyber and email fraud amounted to over GH¢270 million for the period.