fraud management in the banking sector

1 Worlali K Ameevor [email protected] 00233266552155

FRAUD MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING

SECTOR

BY

WORLALI K AMEEVOR


TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Fraud definition

2. Why commit fraud

3. The effect of bank fraud

4. Fraud management

5. Detecting fraud

6. Identity theft management

7. Protecting one self

8. Destroy all unwanted documents

9. Most paper works to be destroyed include

10. Major type of fraud

11. Fraudulent loans

12. Mortgage fraud

13. Other types of loan fraud.

14. Wire fraud

15. Fraud indicators

16. Behavioral indicators

17. Physical indicators

18. Internet fraud

19. Cheque fraud

20. Counterfeit cheques

21. Stolen cheques

22. Altered or forged cheques

23. Closed accounts-

24. New accounts

25. Overrpaid checques


26. Measures to adopt to ensure that your cheques are not or cannot be

forged after they have been prepared and signed.

27. Ecobank fraud case

28. References

Fraud Definition

Fraud is an aspect of corruption and it occurs in organizations where governance

structures are weak.

The Association of Certified Examiners in the USA defines fraud as the “use of

one’s occupation for personal enrichment through deliberate misuse or

misapplication of employing organizations resources and assets”.

The Collins English Dictionary (1999) also defines fraud as “a criminal offence in

which a person acts in deceitful way” .in this respect fraud can be classified either

internal or external.

However in the perspective of the financial industry and specifically the Banking

sector, fraud remains a huge issue.

Banking fraud therefore is define as the use of deliberate misrepresentation in

order to fraudulently obtain money, assets or other property owned or held by a

financial institution. Moreover in criminal law, bank fraud is an intentional

deception made for personal gain or to damage the financial institution.

Bank fraud is also widely known as the white-collar crime: which requires some

sort of technical expertise


Why commit fraud

The perpetrators do not necessarily carry same identities rather they carry similar

characteristics.

Many individual are driven to the cause of fraud just by mere interest in what they

do not have perhaps they want to posses. Besides individual intents to fraudulently

acquire things that they may need, things really do not have and per the influence

of the environment they find themselves there is also a great desire for a group of

persons or otherwise clans that have group desires to get gains for fame, ownership

of property, to be financially sound etc.

The effect of bank fraud

Beyond financial (monetary) losses fraud has other negative consequences that

impact an institution reputation, customer loyalty, and the confidence of the

shareholder. Moreover in the greater impact, the fraud cost is passed on to the

customer.

The individual who fall victim to fraud can experience mental, psychological,

financial, social and physical damage.

The impact of fraud can also be very damaging to cooperate victims where

small/medium scale businesses are most times unable to recover from the financial

or reputational damage caused. However most large companies literally feel the

impact through the increase cost of doing business.


Fraud management

Today while , electronic tracking and improved security has deter fraud practices

the threat still exist and bank fraud still occurs on regular basis. Fraud as have been

mentioned earlier on is a crime, and is becoming difficult to pin down, however,

with the right management controls, practices and policy frame work, it can be

mitigated.

While financial institutions are increasingly spending more resources on the

management of fraud and it allied, the traditional approach of using transaction

monitoring systems can only work well for detecting individual point of sales fraud

in real time.

The financial institutions need an integrated framework together with most

comprehensive plan new and modern fraud detection and prevention.

This management approach needs to protect fraud at the point and time of

transaction, accurately detect incidents in transaction, span all the ways customers

interact with the institution and provide structured oversight for the fraud

management program me.

There are some key elements that can help institutions to successfully prevent

fraud. The institutions must

Have staff code of conduct

Have managers who understand their responsibilities for preventing and

detecting the risk of fraud

Have fraud policy

Take a proactive approach to preventing fraud


Have employees who understand their responsibility for preventing fraud

and detecting the risk of fraud

Have a clear policy on accepting gifts and services

Screen new employees, including criminal history checks

Communicate staff code of conduct regularly-annually or biannually

Designate a person to be responsible for fraud risks, including investigations

Review fraud controls regularly- annually or biannually

Communicate fraud policies regularly-annually or biannually

Carry out due diligence on new suppliers, including credit checks, and

checks for conflict of interest

Offer fraud awareness training.

Detecting fraud

Detecting fraud generally relies on a number of actions; from providing safe

whistle blowing, awareness of how staff can report suspicions to specific process

checkpoints etc.

Some elements as tabulated below with possible affirmative answers ordered from

highest to lowest, entities who want to detect fraud must

1. Closely monitor staff expenses

2. Have a culture where staff will be willing to raise any concerns that they

may have regarding fraud or corruption and know that their concerns will be

taken seriously and that they would not suffer any retaliation

3. Closely monitor staff credit deductions/levels

4. Encourage staff to come forward if they see or suspects fraud or corruption

5. When fraud or corruption risk are raised, take proactive steps to reduce the

risk


6. Have a whistleblower hotline

7. Have a protected disclosure policy

Identity theft management

Identity theft occurs when fraudsters use your personal information without your

knowledge or consent to take out bank accounts, credit cards, loans, state benefits,

and documents such as passports and drivers licenses in your name. Your identity

and personal details are very important for variety of reasons. If these are

compromised by criminals, you may only discover financial crime when you

receive letters seeking repayment of debt you haven’t incurred, or you find an

unexplained credit in your bank account.

It can have very serious consequences on your personal life and finances. For

example, you may have difficulty getting loans, credit cards, or a mortgage until

the problem is sorted out.

Protecting one self

In protecting yourself against this fraud you are advised to keep your valuable

documents secure. It is very crucial to secure documents such as passports, driver’s

licenses and other IDs and always ensure they are in your possession. Whether at

work or at home. Remember, don’t keep your cheque-books and bank cards

together –store them separately.

Destroy all unwanted documents

Don’t help criminals. Always destroy all important personal and financial papers

and documents when you don’t need them any longer. Preferably use cross-cutting

shredder for addition security. If you do not do this, criminals could establish your


name, address and other details by going through your rubbish and can use the

information to apply for credit, goods or services in your name.

Most paper works to be destroyed include

Old bank credit cards and financial statements

Old card receipts

Any partly completed application form carrying your personal details

Any document with your name and address on them

Major type of Fraud

Fraud can be classified as internal or external. Internal fraud occurs when

employees identify an opportunity to commit the act of fraud. An external fraud is

committed when outsider such as customers, suppliers, and service providers

defrauds institutions. I some instances, they would be working with internal staff.

However in the banking financial institution there are multiple disciplines of fraud.

They are

Loan

Mortgage

Wire

Wire on internet

Wire on phone

Cheque

Card


Fraudulent loans

Fraudulent loans take many different forms. The victims may be individuals or

group of people or institutions, and these case financial institutions. Fraudulent

loans schemes generally prey on vulnerable consumers. The situation was people,

groups of people and institutions turn to be in need for money for emergency

purposes. Here we are going to look at critical but common forms of Loan frauds

and how to avoid becoming a victim or accidentally committing fraud yourself.

Mortgage fraud

In the west, mortgage fraud if not the commonest loan frauds, then it is one of the

most common form of loan fraud and it’s so costly.

The victims can be banks or individuals. And sometimes individuals can perpetrate

fraud without even knowing.”Creative Financing” is a term that has been in the

mortgage industry for a long time now. Unfortunately many a time the term forces

consumers to commit fraud without even realizing it. Here are some few examples

that a mortgage applicant can/may do which would constitute mortgage fraud.

Over appraising property value. Happen to be a good friend to the appraiser?

May be he/she raised your house value a little bit to help you get a higher

selling price. If that is the case, its mortgage fraud

Applying for a “stated income” mortgage? May be you exaggerated your

income a little bit to help you get a lower interest rate. That definitely is not

creative financing. That is mortgage fraud.

According to the FBI, mortgage fraud is defined as “any material misstatement,

misrepresentation or omission relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund,

purchase, or insure a loan”. If you feel that you may be asked to break the laws on


your mortgage application, at the very least, consult your council because

ignorance of the law is no excuse. This fraud is also highly perpetrated by insiders.

Other types of Loan Fraud.

Other types of loan fraud may include applying for loan with a fake identity,

forging loan documentation, or even posing as a financial institution I order to

collect down payment on an alleged loan and disappearing after receiving the cash.

Wire fraud

Wire fraud is defined as attempting to defraud using electronic means, such as a

computer or telephone. What must be proved is that the person knowingly and

unlawfully devised or intended to advice a scheme to defraud. Since the advent of

the internet, there are literally thousands of crimes that fall under the definitions of

wired fraud. Here we will be looking at some of the more common forms of wired

fraud, why they occur and how you can protect yourself.

Fraud indicators

There are various indicators as to who might be involved in fraud and these may be

manifested through the change in behavior, speeches or physical appearance of an

employee.

Behavioral indicators

An employee who always seems to stay at work a little later than everyone else or

who wants to leave after the supervisor has gone.

A formally outgoing employee who has become withdrawn.

An employee showing signs of drugs or alcohol abuse.


An employee who refuses to take any vacation or other time off.

Physical indicators

Signs of altered timesheet that a supervisor is requested to approve.

Signs of correction or overrides made to stock accounts sheet or goods received

voucher.

Indicators of photocopies or otherwise suspicious looking supplier invoices

submitted for approval.

Signs of non-business expenditures incurred while on a business trip that are being

charged to the organization.

Internet fraud

The internet fraud offers a global marketplace for consumers and business. But the

crooks also recognize the potentials of cyber space. The same scams that have been

conducted by email and phones can now be found on the World Wide Web and in

emails and new cyber crimes are emerging.

It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between reputable online seller and

criminals who use the internet to rob people.

You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the danger signs of fraud. If

you are a victim or attempted victim of internet fraud, it is important to report the

scam quicly to the law enforcement agencies so they can shut down the fraudulent

operations.

Examples of internet fraud include but not limited to the following as there are

emerging ones each and every day:


1. Advance free loans

2. Credit card offers

3. Business opportunities

4. Charity scam

5. Fake cheque scam

6. General merchandise

7. Government grant

8. Nigerian Money offer(419)

9. Investment scam

10. Travel fund

11. Pyramid and multilevel marketing

12. Phishing

13. Information/adult service

14. Identity theft

15. Scholarship scam

16. Online auction

17. Work from home scam

18. Job scam

Cheque fraud

Checque fraud is one of the oldest types of financial crime. Even in our computer

and internet technology era, many consumers still prefer to pay by cheque or

bankers drafts. The cause of this is the people do not trust the computer technology

and have misconceptions about online banking. This is to some extent

understandable because of the fact that most of these humans are computer

illiterates and what is unknown to the human mind causes fear or rejection. This

fear however is totally obsolete because statistics has shown currently that online

banking is now safer than cheques.


To protect yourself from cheque fraud I will be giving you some guidelines and

necessary precautions you should take before receiving or sending a cheque. It is

also strongly recommended that you responsibly inspect and analyze the cheques

The three main types of cheque fraud are:

Counterfeit cheques-these cheques are not written or authorized by

legitimate account holders. The existence of counterfeit cheques is supported

by new technology. The thieves now use printers, copiers, and software’s to

make clone cheques with high resemblance to the original. Many times these

are hard to recognize as false even by experts.

Stolen cheques-cheques not signed by account owner, rather stolen,

usually out of the glove box of cars or homes. The signature is then forged

and cheque used as pleased. Interestingly other documents not well protected

and have signatures are used to clone the signature.

Altered or Forged Cheques- this check is properly issued by the

account holder but has been intercepted and the beneficiary or the amount on

the cheque being altered or new information added. To do so, sharp

instruments and chemicals are used.

Closed accounts- Bank account which are not used anymore or are

closed, but cheques still exist for these accounts. if these cheques are not

destroyed, you can be a potential victim

New accounts- an identity is stolen or made up with false documents. If a

fraudster personal document and some potential information, he can request

a bank account in your name. Bankers unknowingly accept these request and

open new accounts, giving the scammer the opportunity to steal money from

individuals or businesses in your name.


Overpaid checques- a false cheque is issues by your “business partner”

with a larger sum than required. The thief will then ask if he can get the

change, making up different excuses why he transferred the overpaid sum.

The cheque is false and will be declined by the bank and you will end up

losing the amount you gave out in exchange.

Measures to adopt to ensure that your cheques are not or cannot be

forged after they have been prepared and signed.

Leave not gaps in your words

Always draw a line after the name, amount and elsewhere any space is left

Use full and correct names for all information

Prohibit transfer of cheques

Never pre-sign cheques

Don’t leave your cheque books in your car as large percentage of stolen

cheques are taken from cars

If you close an account, destroy any remaining cheques relevant to that

account

Measures to take when receiving a cheque

Check for an ID .only take driver’s license, personal ID or passport; don’t

take other Ids confirmation as they are relatively easier to fake. Even then be

cautious. These documents can also be forged.

Compare the signature on ID against cheque signature any other specimen

Ask the issuer the cheque to give you their home telephone number and

may be some sort of personal information, compare the number in your

phone book and call the person at home

Refuse cheques written with a pencil or cheques with signs of being altered


Be wary of accepting cheques not signed in front of you or single cheques

not being torn out of the checkbook. Thieves often steal just one or two

cheques to gain time before the owner suspects the missing leafs.

Don’t give change on cheques

Insider must beware of Checque gifts

People who are cashing cheques end up losing funds when the bank realizes the

cheques are false. That’s so because people are held responsible for anything they

deposit into their accounts.

Ecobank fraud case

THE FINANCIAL Division High Court yesterday sentenced an Ecobank Cashier and her

husband to 25 years' imprisonment each for stealing various sums of money from accounts of the

bank customers.

The couple was found guilty of stealing over GH¢700,000 from the accounts of Church of

Pentecost and Teacher's Fund.

The cashier, Linda Edzidor, was charged with 94 counts of stealing while her husband Joshua

Edzidor faced four counts of abetment of crime and dishonestly receiving.

According to the prosecution, the cashier, who had worked at Ecobank Ring Road branch for the

past four years, between the months of May and October 2010, withdrew GH¢ 655,526,

GH¢31,120 and GH¢ 655,526 from the accounts of Church of Pentecost headquarters, La

District Church of Pentecost and Teacher's Fund Financial Service respectively, and invested

them into businesses.

They had allegedly used the money to buy two 4×4 vehicles, four taxis and acquired a vast land

at Pokuase for a Real Estate company.


In addition, Joshua formed Strong Foundation Company and opened an account at Ecobank for

it. Some of the stolen money was deposited in the Ecobank account to run the said company.

The court presided over by Justice Bright Mensah observed that the prosecution, led by a

Principal State Attorney, Evelyn Keelson, was able to prove the guilt of the convicts without

reasonable doubt.

The judge observed from the evidence that it was Joshua who encouraged his wife to steal the

money, as Linda sent him the stolen money every two weeks.

Justice Mensah found them guilty on all the counts and sentenced each to 25 years' imprisonment

in hard labour, but the sentences are to run concurrently.

The judge also ordered that the money and the property acquired by the convicts should be

confiscated and given to the bank.

Before conviction, their lawyer, J. K. Yeboah, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy

because the convicts were young and had two children.

Facts in court disclosed that in October last year, some customers, including the Pentecost

Church, complained of strange withdrawals from their accounts.

The bank therefore commenced investigations into the matter and discovered that Linda was the

one who withdrew the money without any authorization from the bank.

The bank then invited her for questioning but she did not honour the invitation as she continued

to feign sickness and gave flimsy excuses.

This made the bank contact her husband, who gave an undertaking that he was ready to pay the

amount involved.

However, the bank handed the case to the police for further investigation, leading to their arrest

and subsequent sentencing.

By Mary Anane


REFERENCES

http://www.modernghana.com/news/358665/1/ecobank-cashier-jailed-for-fraud.html

http://www.ecobank.com/sc_it.aspx

http://www.fraud.org./

http://www.fraud.org/internet/intinfo.htm

Best Practice Series: Fraud and Prevention Handbook

http://www.modernghana.com/news/358665/1/ecobank-cashier-jailed-for-fraud.html

http://www.ecobank.com/sc_it.aspx

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