Ezrel Tabiowo in this piece gives an insight into nature and types of cybercrime in Nigeria amidst replaying the Senate’s intervention last week to clamp down on criminals in the country
Nigeria as a country has fast earned itself a reputation for being the most internet fraudulent country in Africa, following a report which ranked it third among others identified with cyber fraud and computer crime in the world.
The disturbing development which was contained in a global computer crime and security survey forced a call from ICT experts who urged for concerted efforts among stakeholders, civil society groups, corporate bodies and government institutions to join forces together to rid the continent of internet crime as same portends imminent danger for Africa’s security.
One of such experts, Dr. Martins Ikpehai, chief executive officer, Computer Audit and Security Associates Ltd, Lagos, while expressing concern that the internet facility has recently become an instrument of terrorism emphasised that “Law enforcement agencies such as Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practice and other related offences Commission (ICPC), State Security Service (SSS), the Nigeria Police among others play prominent roles in the fight against the new trend of social vice.
According to Ikpehai, “Computer security and cyber crime awareness should be created with a view to sensitising all users of the internet facility with the emerging indicators of crime and fraud being committed through computer.
“Need now arises to the surviving mega banks, oil multinationals, business conglomerates and communication firms from untold sorrow which the cyber criminals have resolved to inflict on most businesses” he said.
Cybercrime and banking
Similarly, even more worrisome was a prediction by Cyber security experts indicating an increase in cyber crimes in 2014 in line with the growing usage of the internet in Nigeria.
The prediction which was contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s report for the first half of 2013 indicated that there were 2,478 fraud and forgery cases involving Nigerian banks valued at over N20 billion.
The figure represents an 8 percent increase over the previous year volume but a considerable increase in value of over 200 percent from 2012.
According to reports by the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlements Systems (NIBSS), between year 2000 and 2013, Nigerian banks have lost an estimated N159 billion to electronic frauds and cyber crimes.
Taiwo Longe, Chief Information Security Officer, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while speaking at the recent National Cyber Security Forum (NCSF 2014) noted that, “With the growing threat of cyber criminals, the need for a policy framework to address the menace has become more imperative now than ever before.”
A survey conducted by KPMG on the banking sector indicated that for customers aged 30 and below, eight-in-ten customers never use internet banking. Perhaps the issue of reliance/security in terms of e – banking activities has been a major hitch.
According to the survey, “An overwhelming number of corporate customers (95 percent) rated security of their online corporate solution as their most important element of online banking.”
The adoption of e–banking in the country, though laudable in terms of how same eases financial transaction, also comes with its own fair share security risks which has reared its ugly head in the prevalence of cyber crimes in Nigeria.
Against the backdrop of estimate by analysts projecting global losses to cyber crime at over $400bn annually, following recent cyber attacks on JP Morgan Chase and a handful of other U. S. Banks, is a development indicative that Nigeria may afterall suffer a severe blow if the trend is not nipped in the bud early enough.
Internet Scams and crimes
Also, Nigeria’s notoriety for being among countries behind e-mail scams has foisted on Nigerians a dubious reputation on the internet. These schemes solicit financial investment on huge profit returns which never come.
There are several types of these scams such as Investment scam, charity scam and Inheritance scam.
In the case of an Inheritance scam, the criminal sends and email to the victim as a beneficiary of the will of an estranged relative, and request for money to gain access to an estate valued at millions of dollars. The criminal’s goal is to make the victim part with an amount of money, which in most cases is substantial, with the promise of making a split once recovery of the estate pulls through. This never happens.
The charity scam on the other hand, is one in which the criminal sends an email to gullible individuals who end up becoming victims of their plots. They disguise as a charity organization while soliciting monetary assistance for a cause.
Other forms of online criminal activity are cyber stalking, hacking (illegal access to information), computer vandalism and piracy (intellectual property violations.
Senate’s Intervention
Determined to confront headlong the monster called cybercrime in Nigeria, the Senate last Thursday launched an all-out offensive against online fraudsters and criminals when it passed a bill which prescribes a seven-year jail term for anyone found guilty of the offence.
The passage of the bill came following consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
The bill titled: “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Prohibition, Prevention, Detection, Response, Investigation and Prosecution of Cybercrimes and for Other Related Matters 2014,” seeks to punish interception of data, system interference and misuse of devices; and punish all kinds of computer-related fraud, computer-related forgery, and offences relating to pornography, cyber-stalking and cyber-squatting.
Leading debate on the bill, its sponsor, Senator Adegbenga Kaka (Ogun East), said anyone who commits fraud using a computer system or network with the intention of obtaining computer data, securing access to any programme, commercial or industrial secrets or classified information will upon conviction be sentenced to seven years jail term or a fine of N7million or both.
He said anyone found guilty of possessing a manipulative device, unauthorised automatic teller machine (ATM) card, damaging a computer with the intention to defraud, trafficking in any password to defraud customers or financial institutions will be sentenced to seven years imprisonment or a N7 million fine.
The bill also spells out a three-year jail term or N2 million fines for anyone who knows that a crime has been committed in his premises or cyber-cafe and fails to report to relevant authorities within seven days.
Under the instance where said fraud is found to have been perpetrated in connivance with the owner(s) of the cyber-cafe, such owners shall be liable to a fine of N2 million or three-year-jail term.
The bill also provides for punishment of 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine against anyone who commits any offences in relation to critical national information infrastructure and 15 years imprisonment for any person who commits such a crime resulting in bodily harm and life imprisonment for such crime if it results in death of another person.
