THE Bankers Association of Zambia (BAZ) says it is in talks with the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) on the possibility of instituting stiffer penalties for fraudsters hacking in the banking system.
BAZ chairperson Mizinga Melu said the association is working with the central bank to ensure that penalties are more stringent.
Mrs Melu said the association has continued to receive numerous complaints on debit card machines and automated teller machines (ATM) fraud attempts particularly from customers transacting abroad.
She said initial investigations by the BAZ revealed that some cards could have been replicated or skimmed and these are now being used to transact on both ATMs and points of sale machines.
“In order to protect the customers’ funds and to ensure that customers are not inconvenienced, a number of banks have taken various protective and preventive measures,” she said.
She said this at a press briefing in Lusaka on Wednesday.
Mrs Melu said the association is doing everything possible to manage the risk and ensure customer’s funds are protected.
Customers have been advised to exercise caution when using debit cards especially when transacting abroad.
Mrs Melu cautioned the public to be wary of fraudsters and advised customers to refrain from giving pin numbers to people they are close.
She advised clients intending to travel outside the country to inform their banks and report any suspicious transactions.
“We have seen that this is a real issue, even in developed nations it is happening, so please take caution when transacting as a precautionary measure,” she said.
She said BAZ is working with the central bank governor on how best to bring to book culprits by instituting stringent penalties.
She however could not quantify the amount in terms of figures the banks have lost in terms of fraud activities since fraud activities are in early stages.
In the recent past the banking industry experienced isolated incidents of card frauds.
BAZ has also urged customers to get in touch with their bankers should they notice any suspicious transaction on their account, for investigation and appropriate action to ensure customers are not inconvenienced.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
employ some qualified people pitches!!!
If you see Bulgarians coming for a 30 day holiday….check their luggage very well for skimmers.
Most skimming teams are from European countries.
They have been taking approx $5 million a week from banks here.
Stick to Credit cards where the bank will refund the crime but its much harder to get your OWN money back from a debit card ripoff.
You have to complete so much forms and wait 30 days for investigations to occur before you get your OWN money back.
Credit cards use the BANKS money not yours….Wink!
Not even stiff penalties or punishment will deter fraud stars all I can advise BAZ and Mizinga Melu is always to be ahead of such characters. Fraud like any other crime will never be eliminated as long as man lives. Infact its also a big industry. Its a question being alert all the time. Hackers are brilliant characters who play with find pleasure in playing with figures and as far as they are concerned its noraml and dont see anything wrong in what they do. Recently we had USA panicking coz they diplomatic cables were hacked or leaked by Jullian Ansage. The whole thing was just unbelievable but it happened.
Zambian banks are paying the price for BoZ not developing a comprehensive IT/e-banking system framework in Zambia. Most of the fraudsters are sitting in foreign countries & the sooner the banks realise the better. Cyber crime targeting banks is a multi-billion dollar under world industry. As a precaution I transact in cash when am in Zambia because am not convinced with the IT security that most banks have for their ATM or online banking services and point of sale from most retailers.
Mizinga, eversince the white guy left Stanchart the Bank is under peforming and a lot of uncessary Bank charges are being introduced e.g. the deduction of K20,000 whenever someone withdraws above 8 million of Savings Accounts. This is day light robbery. You should emulate Investrust Bank even if it is not as big as as Stanchart they have very friendly services and do not steal our money anyhow.
Most of these fraudsters are either former or current bank employees; thats where the problem is
These guys should introduce security cameras at ATM points to capture us as we transact to avoid disputes. I believe more than 50% of these thefts are done by bank employees who in turn will accuse a brother for using an ATM after taking a few drinks thus his failure to recall the transaction.
IT devils on the rise, wake up wake up, bwacha bana chimbusa
You can’t ever stop fraud, Look at the current Govt. Furthermore this type of fraud has minimal jail sentences for maximum profit. In the UK an armed robber can hold up a bank aggressively and get away with £5,000, if caught he faces 25 years behind bars. If you use your brain and defraud via the internet or otherwise by £28 million you can expect like Chiluba 5 years or less. Makes sense, besides the banks have been robbing us for ages.
zm banking system security is so unbeliveably ridiculous,a first year computer science student can hack into most of the networks with relative ease.Dont even get me started on ZANACO.For international banks such as standard chartered and barclays thier focus is to rip you off for what you are worth no intrest in protecting your savings or providing good customer service. by the way what sort of chair is this ? ati ” cant quantify the amounts” its laughable.where do organisations get such people and she is supposed to lead such an important organisation?God help us.
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