Fraudster Take Over Fidelity Bank’s E-transfer
***Executive Director Loses Millions
Some fraudsters have breached the information technology system of one of Nigeria financial institutions, Fidelity Bank PLC, forcing it to close down some electronic-based services. The alleged incident was said to have been noticed by the bank management on Monday, October 15, 2012 and it has caused many heads to roll in the bank, including the account officer, branch manager, and others in operations and IT. Some of them were redeployed to other units.
Findings has it that a fraud that sleazed some millions of naira from the account of one of the Executive Director of the Bank forced it to stop instant money transfers, both from their internet banking services and savings account. Instead, the bank has restricted all transfers to current account.
Reliable sources claimed the ED Risk management; Mrs Onome Olaolu was the person that his account was hacked.
According to our source in the information technology unit of the bank, who pleaded for anonymity, the fraud happened like a speed of light. “Some fraud stars opened some savings accounts, had access into Mrs Onome’s account, and wired the money into their savings accounts instantly. In two days, the millions had left their accounts, withdrawn through Automated Teller Machines (ATM), even breaking some rules guiding ATM withdrawals,” he revealed.
Those in the known divulged that when the account owner raised the alarm and drew the attention of the management to the fraud, the bank immediately halted all electronic transfers before it later approved the use of current accounts for initiating any form of electronic money transfers bank wide.
Insiders of the bank claim “The bank stopped electronic transfers from savings account because the level of documentation in the account opening process is low compared with what obtains in current account. Besides, the bank noticed that most of the frauds that hit the bank in the recent time, especially after the Cashless Policy took effect in Lagos, were perpetrated mainly from savings accounts. Also, the bank settled for NEFT, which is a product of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Systems Plc which tarries for some hours before the transaction is completed, at least to give room for further verifications.”
Fidelity Bank prides itself as technology-competent institution and it harps on its state-of-the-art technology as a selling point.
