Financial fraud: CBS and SBA to educate Seychellois on how to avoid being scammed

According to their figures, 120 clients have been scammed from the month of January to date. (Alpha Photo, Flicker) Photo Licence: CC BY-NC 2.0

(Seychelles News Agency) - The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) and the Seychelles Bankers Association (SBA) have joined forces to hold an awareness campaign from October to December to educate the public on how to avoid the pitfalls of fraudulent financial transactions.

The two entities revealed in a press conference on Monday that this initiative comes after they noticed an increase in the number of people being scammed.

"In recent months there has been a rise in fraudulent financial activities, particularly in internet banking and this is a growing concern for the banker' association as well as the central bank," said the SBA chairperson, Audrey Pothin.

According to their figures, 120 clients have been scammed from the month of January to date.

The authorities explained that there is an increase in incidents of phishing and investment fraud, as well as other types of digital fraud, that they suspect originate from international crime syndicates with ties in Seychelles.

Phishing is the practice of tricking Internet users through the use of deceptive email messages or websites, into revealing personal or confidential information.

Investment scams are where potential scam victims are offered fake investment opportunities, promising high returns with little to no risk. These are done through fake websites, documents, and communications that appear legitimate, convincing them to invest substantial amounts of money.

Meanwhile, in the cases the banks recorded, all the customers lost money and Pothin revealed that there were a few where the banks were able to recover some of the funds as they came in to report the fraud in time.

The banks' records also show those scammed were aged between 30 to 40 years old and were from lower salary brackets.

"When you think that some clients have been robbed of around SCR 100,000 ($ 7,200), this is money that some have taken years to save for," said Murugan Pillay, a member of the SBA

The CBS governor, Caroline Abel, also stressed that "with the evolution that is happening in banking, clients now have to take some of the responsibilities of keeping their bank accounts and details safe."

She said, "In the past when we had an account, we had a bank book and went to the bank for transactions, now our bank accounts are on our computers through internet banking, our mobiles through the many apps and in our purses through cards."

During the awareness campaign, the two institutions will be teaching bank clients what to watch out for when they are doing financial transactions on their Internet banking platforms or mobile banking platforms.

Both bodies have agreed that members of the public should not carry out any financial transactions if they are unsure of the sources, and call the relevant institutions for clarification if they are ever in doubt.