Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc (BPR Plc.) has cautioned its clients on emerging digital financial security challenges and vulnerabilities which could lead to theft of funds in case precautions are not taken.

The bank has said that with ongoing efforts encouraging bank customers to adopt and use electronic channels for banking, fraudsters have been attempting to take advantage of the development to con clients.

Among the common ways in which fraudsters have been attempting to con bank clients include reaching out to them asking them to send money via mobile money to be eligible to defer loan repayments.

The bank said that following measures to defer loan repayments for current loans to cushion their clients whose income flows and revenue had been affected by COVID19 pandemic, some fraudsters were calling unsuspecting clients asking them to send money to the bank via mobile money platforms to be considered for deferment.

The bank said that no charges are imposed by the bank on the loans deferment adding that the bank does not ask clients to send money for loan repayments via mobile money.

"Customers should be aware that BPR Plc. never asks customers to pay any bank fees be it for monthly loan repayments or any other payments using Mobile Money,” the bank clarified

The bank also reminded clients not to share their personal information with anyone including bank staff noting that some fraudsters call clients pretending to be BPR personnel asking clients for their personal information such as Personal Identification Number (PIN), passwords (such as one time password or OTP), account numbers and Identity Card Numbers among other details.  

Fraudsters use the details to attempt to access digital banking channels of unsuspecting clients.  

Clients were also urged to contact the bank in the event their phones were not in service or lost to disable their digital banking channels.

 This would ensure that if anyone attempts to access their accounts through the phones, they would be unsuccessful. The bank has a contact center line of 1500.

In the event a customer suspects that their password or PIN has been disclosed, the bank said one should immediately reset it or contact the bank via the contact center line for further management.

The bank added that clients should always contact them to clarify queries or requests made to them by anyone reaching them on matters involving their bank accounts.

Recent statistics by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau show that cyber fraud has been on the rise with economic losses worth Rwf6bn reported in 2018.

The statistics released in May 2019 showed that at least 113 cases of cybercrimes of which 64 were committed in the City of Kigali were recorded in 2018 leaving many counting losses.

Cybercrimes that they recorded increased from 47 cases in 2017 of which 40 were committed in Kigali city leading to Rwf 298 million and, 106, 000 Euros in economic losses to the victims.

Central Bank statistics further show that in 2018 there were over 50m suspicious connections detected and dropped, indicating the growing popularity of the vice. In 2017, there were about eight million suspicious connections.

Other ways fraudsters attempt heists include counterfeit, lost or stolen cards used at terminals such as point of sale machines, ATMs, or online.

Experts say that the main threats in cybercrime in Rwanda include fraudulent activities, internal cyber-crimes by internal personnel (either deliberately or erroneously) as well as external cyber-attacks.