Tanzania banking sector struggles with escalating fraud, mobile scams

Tanzania banking sector struggles with escalating fraud, mobile scams

Dar es Salaam. Despite recording massive profits in recent years, the banking sector has been contending with notable losses stemming from diverse forms of fraud, information from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) indicates.

The consolidated summary of losses occasioned by fraud in the banking sector shows an increase in incidences causing losses to the banking sector amounting to Sh2.64 billion by December 2023 from Sh2.42 billion at the end of the first quarter. This was an increase of 8.8 percent in 2023.

Fraudulent activities in mobile and internet banking remained the most prevalent, causing losses amounting to approximately Sh1.65 billion by December 2023, a slight decrease from Sh1.66 billion recorded at the end of the first quarter of the same year, the consolidated data issued by the BoT on March 5, 2024 indicate.

Although there was a 65 percent decrease in internal staff fraud from September to December, with losses totaling Sh469.39 million, the sector still grapples with significant insider threats.

The reported figure marked an 8.6 percent increase from the beginning of the year, when Sh431.9 million in losses were recorded.

ATM card skimming incidents witnessed a troubling 60 percent increase, reaching Sh159.87 million by the end of 2023.

This figure surpasses the Sh99.64 million recorded in September and was also a twofold increase from the Sh57.46 million reported in March 2023.

Speaking to The Citizen, seasonal banker and analyst Mr Kelvin Mkwawa sheds light on the evolving landscape and the urgent need for robust preventative measures.

“ATM card frauds are increasingly linked to the surge in e-commerce and online payments, posing a significant risk to customer information,” said Mkwawa, adding that the widespread use of tap-in cards has exacerbated the situation.

Mkwawa also highlighted the prevalence of business compromise scams, which involve perpetrators issuing emails to banks and soliciting customer information.

He underscored the insidious threat of account takeover fraud, primarily orchestrated by insiders within banking establishments.

“Dormant accounts are particularly vulnerable targets for these illicit activities,” he said.

Regarding the proliferation of mobile banking fraud, Mr Mkwawa elucidated the sophisticated tactics used by cybercriminals.

He said customers may unknowingly receive malware-infected links, facilitating unauthorised access to their financial data.

There is also loan fraud, where fraudsters exploit the identities of reputable companies to secure loans for fictitious employees.

“The adoption of sophisticated security measures is paramount to thwarting increasingly sophisticated cyber threats,” he asserted.

Beyond technological safeguards, Mkwawa stressed the importance of enhancing financial literacy among users to bolster awareness and promote proactive measures to safeguard sensitive financial information.

“Banks must also prioritise the recruitment and training of personnel committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards,” he said.

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tanzania Bankers Association, Tuse Mwaikasu, told Mwananchi that he could not comment on the matter because it was not public information.

“Bankers would be more appropriate to address this matter, as they possess the expertise and first-hand knowledge on the subject,” said Mwaikasu.

Despite the overall surge in fraud incidences, there was a notable decline in forged checks and TISS (Tanzania Inter-bank Settlement System) fraud by 66 percent, closing at Sh11.3 million in December 2023 from Sh34 million recorded in March of the same year.

Similarly, September saw a 45 percent drop from sh20.9 million, reflecting positive strides in combating certain types of fraud.

Moreover, 2023 witnessed zero armed robbery incidences targeting banks, suggesting a shift in tactics among criminals towards more technologically-driven forms of fraud.

Original Media Source

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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania Foreign Investment News
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.

The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.

In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.

Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.

“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”

Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.

Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.

In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.

Source: allafrica.com

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