Financial Crime World

GABON BANKS RACE TO DETECT FINANCIAL CRIMES

Top-of-Mind Concerns for Banking Institutions

As banks in Gabon continue to grapple with the menace of financial crimes, a growing number are expressing high levels of concern about fraud. According to recent statistics, 52% of banks report worrying about fraud, making it top-of-mind for banking institutions.

WHAT IS BANKING FRAUD?

Banking fraud is a type of financial crime that involves using illegal means to obtain money, assets or other property owned by a bank, other financial institution or customers. It can be challenging to detect when misclassified as credit risk or written off as a loss rather than investigated and prevented.

Types of Banking Fraud

There are several types of banking fraud, including:

Identity Theft

  • When a bad actor steals a consumer’s personal information and uses it to take money, open credit accounts, make purchases, etc.

Check Fraud

  • This type of fraud occurs when a fraudster writes a bad check, forges information or steals and alters someone else’s check.

Credit Card Fraud

  • A form of identity theft where a bad actor makes purchases or gets a cash advance in the name of an unsuspecting consumer.

Phishing

  • These malicious efforts allow scammers to steal personal and account information through use of email, or in the case of smishing, through text messages.

Direct Deposit Account Fraud

  • Also known as DDA fraud, criminals monetize stolen information to open new accounts and divert funds from payroll, assistance programs, etc.

TOP CONCERNS FOR GABON BANKS

Today, top concerns for banks in Gabon include:

  1. Authorized push or wire transfer payment fraud
  2. Transactional fraud
  3. Account takeover
  4. First-party fraud
  5. Third-party fraud
  6. Synthetic identity fraud

BANKING FRAUD PREVENTION IN GABON

Detecting and preventing banking fraud consists of a set of techniques and tasks that help protect customers, assets and systems from those with malicious intent.

Some emerging trends in banking fraud prevention include:

  • Use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML): These technologies can be used to identify patterns consistent with fraudulent activity.
  • Behavioral analytics and biometrics: By noting standard customer behaviors and how they use devices, organizations can flag riskier users for additional authentication and verification.
  • Leveraging additional data sources: By looking beyond standard credit reports when opening credit accounts, organizations can better detect signs of identity theft, synthetic identities, etc.

HOW TO PREVENT AND DETECT BANKING FRAUD IN GABON

In order to be successful in the fight against fraud and keep yourself and your customers safe, financial institutions of all sizes and types must:

  1. Balance risk mitigation with the customer experience
  2. Ensure seamless interactions across platforms for known consumers who present little to no risk
  3. Leverage proper identity resolution and verification tools
  4. Recognize good consumers and apply the proper fraud mitigation techniques to riskier scenarios