Accra:Ghana's banking industry is ramping up anti-fraud education efforts in response to the growing threat of social engineering scams, which pose significant cybersecurity and financial risks.
According to Ghana News Agency, fraudsters are increasingly exploiting trust, emotions, and human behavior through phishing links, fake calls, deceptive messages, and impersonation schemes. At a Fraud Awareness Roundtable organized by GCB Bank during its Customer Service Month, Mrs. Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo, Chief Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Officer of GCB Bank, emphasized the importance of heightened customer awareness as financial scams become more sophisticated.
The program aims to equip customers with practical knowledge to identify and avoid fraudulent schemes. Mrs. Ofori-Dwumfuo highlighted that while digital banking has improved convenience, it has also created new opportunities for fraudsters to target unsuspecting customers. GCB Bank has collaborated with the Cyber Security Authority, National Signals Bureau, Ghana Police Service, and the Ghana Association of Banks to enhance public understanding of cyber threats and fraud prevention measures.
Mrs. Ofori-Dwumfuo urged customers to verify requests for sensitive information and directly contact their banks if they are uncertain about any transaction or communication. She stressed that continuous public education is essential to fraud prevention, and GCB Bank is complementing industry-wide campaigns with customer awareness initiatives to promote safe digital banking practices.
Mr. John Awuah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, noted that social engineering has become one of the most significant fraud threats facing the financial services sector. He stated that modern fraudsters increasingly rely on manipulating trust rather than breaching technological systems, targeting individuals from all walks of life by exploiting moments of distraction, kindness, and trust.
Mr. Awuah called on banks, payment service providers, fintech firms, telecommunications companies, and other stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and intelligence-sharing to improve the recovery of funds lost through fraud. He emphasized the importance of collective efforts to make cybercrime less profitable by increasing the likelihood of tracing and recovering stolen funds.
Source Ghana News Agency