'Cyber fraudsters keep targeting banking sector'

Mr George Nkrumah, Head Anti-Money Laundering Office, Financial Stability Department, Bank of Ghana (BoG), has said over the past three years, Ghana had lost about US$200 Million to cyber-crime.

The cyber fraudsters keep targeting the activities in the banking sector, he said, adding that neither would the security agencies relent in monitoring and forestalling their activities.

Mr Nkrumah said financial institutions such as banks were evolving from a cash system to a cashless method of banking and this has given cyber fraudsters the opportunity to use advanced technologies to try and hack into the database of institutions in order to steal funds.

He said this at the opening of a three-day Financial Crime Sensitisation Seminar organised by the BoG.

The seminar was held in collaboration with the Committee for Co-operation between Law Enforcement Agencies and Banking Communities (COCLAB) and other stakeholders.

Mr Nkrumah said based on the prevailing situation, there is the need to put in place security measures and the adoption of healthy cyber practices to protect the funds of investors.

"We will continue to monitor their approaches and put in place appropriate measures so they don't succeed," he said.

He advised employers to cross check background of their employees with the BoG to ensure that they don't have any history of financial fraud- else they could be recruiting fraudsters.

Participants at the event included representatives from the banking, security and judicial sectors amongst others.