Hacked bank accounts

Effective measures need to be taken immediately

Pakistan is one of the lowest banked countries in the world. According to Global Findex 2014 only about 13% of the population has conventional bank accounts. More recent estimates put the figure at around 16%. But that is still a far cry from the regional benchmark of 37%. To be fair this figure is on the rise – in 2008 it was a mere 8%. But getting this figure up to an acceptable level that can drive economic growth is an uphill task that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has undertaken as part of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Apart from geographical limitations for banks and tax avoidance being primary problems in getting people to open bank accounts there remains skepticism around how secure bank accounts really are. Therefore, recent fraudulent activities with Automated Teller Machines (ATM’s) being used to hack bank accounts will have an adverse effect on SBP’s efforts.

A private bank confirmed that a collective amount of Rs10 million had been stolen from 559 of its accounts through ATM’s. The management of the bank downplayed the incident saying it was a very small proportion of their deposit base and the money would be reimbursed. Left unchecked and taken lightly by all stakeholders this could reach dangerous levels with severe consequences.

That the FIA was able to nab a hacker within a week of the incident is commendable but more needs to be done. SBP being the regulator in the country has to formulate and implement tough anti-hacking policies in order to minismise such incidents.

Private banks have anti-fraud departments but they mostly consist of human resource that records and resolves complaints. With record profit’s being made by banks it is imperative that they employ the latest technology in order to make it harder for hackers to gain access to bank accounts.

Account holders can help themselves by checking ATM’s for skimming devices and spy camera’s that are used to get sensitive information from debit/credit cards. Transaction alert services through SMS is a good way to immediately get notified about a suspicious transaction and report it.