Formally, when the banking sector was not digitalized, fraud was not common, but what do we see these days?
The introduction of the internet and e-banking has caused the rise of cyber fraud. No wonder the elders used to say “Something that will bite you will definitely come from your own cloth”.
Recently, there was a publication in the media that a young man by the name of Emmanuel, a staff member of Absa Bank, took advantage of his position to siphon millions of chopable Ghana cedis from the accounts of the deceased and the living
Some of the customers’ accounts are current and dormant, and this has been noted in the public domain. This news has shocked people because the local commercial bank appears not to be safe due to the upsurge of Internet fraud perpetrated by notorious thieves who steal cash from the banks.
What most are praying for is the bank staff who are employed to keep customers saving over time.
We, the customers, are now afraid to keep our monies in the banks, as we have now noted that’’ “a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
Though some people’s job at the bank is to serve as errand boys or to assist customers on how to fill out their withdrawal or deposit slips, they have gone to the extent of hacking into customers’ accounts.
The deceased account
What happened to people’s deceased money in the bank? I guess if their family members are aware or not of their beloved’s money. Especially their savings, fixed deposits, and other investments. I wonder if this is open to any of the families to trace those funds. Does the bank claim the account after the holder dies?
Recruitment/ Trust issue
Sometimes people wonder if it’s the right workers that are recruited into various industries or organizations. Which serious organization or institution would employ staff without doing background investigations? Absolutely no serious company will do that. The behaviour of the staff prompts many questions. Can the bank be trusted now? Is it a curse for someone to engage in such a deviant act after getting employment? Almost every institution trusts its staff or employees against thefts or others outside the organization.
The nepotism system of “whom you know” [the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs] is posing great danger in our sectors. Aside from the fact that party boys and girls who are supposed to be guards, houseboys, and girls are placed in high positions, they fail to master the skills and make money their focus just because their bosses taught them.
Policy or Mechanism
The question is, “What due diligence do the banks do for IT-recruited staff? What are the policies or mechanisms to check the activities of the staff in the banks during this era of Internet fraud? It would have been very laudable if the financial sector or the banking sector could be restructured to avoid avoidable activities in order to maintain the long-established image. Normally, we have the law with us, but the law doesn’t work just because it is often not implemented to punish offenders.
Documentations
We think the bank is a place of refuge, which is why we move our money from home to the bank to get peace of mind. The bank that we turn to in order to be free from robbery attacks and thefts has rather turned into a bleeding place of thieves in disguise. Some of you think we are not sleeping at night when our money is in our homes. No! We become security by force to protect what we toil hard to earn.
Contentment
The desire to get rich or get rich overnight behaviour, living an extravagant lifestyle, and the desire to live in a serene environment without passing through the normal system. The dream of driving luxurious cars or changing different kinds of ladies is the language understood by the youth of today.
All the above-mentioned points are the result of pride, laziness, envy, jealousy, and others. So long as one is not satisfied with what he or she has, they go the extra mile to do otherwise. In the 21st century, many have the perception that once you do not own a car, drive the latest cars, or change ladies, you are outdated (colo). The nice thing is to put on expensive jewellery and expensive watches, to mention just a few. What we usually forget and don’t want to hear is “A good name is better than riches,” and our reputation or our image is what we should be fighting for.
