By Babajide Komolafe

The Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) has commenced moves to combat the threat of internet fraud through the ‘deep Web’. This started with sensitization of stakeholders in the electronic payment industry during the 2nd Quarterly meeting of the Forum held on Friday. Commenting on the rationale for theme of the meeting, which was, “The Deep Web and its impact on the Global Financial Industry”, NeFF Chairman and Director of Banking and Payment System Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Dipo Fatokun said, “The reality we face today is that the conventional use of the World Wide Web is like dragging a net across the surface of the ocean, capturing less than 1% of Web Content.

It is true that an entire life exists beyond the surface of the web as we know it , the Deep Web. Who controls this life, what are the impacts on our electronic payment transactions and what impact does it hold for the Global Financial Industry? “When we speak of electronic payment, it runs on the web. We have the deep web and we have the surface web “While the surface web accounts for five percent of what happens on the web, 95 percent of what happens in the web is in the deep web and of course, there are so many illegal things that come up in the deep web which people are not aware of

“And as you know, we have always emphasized this at this forum that lack of knowledge or ignorance is the primary reason why the spate of electronic fraud has not abated as well as we would have love it to abate. “So that is the reason why we consider it necessary at this quarterly meeting as a form of education, sensitisation and enlightenment for members of the forum and of course  the financial services industry to be aware that what happens in the deep web can also  affect us if we are not careful about it”.

Also speaking at the forum, CBN Director, Consumer Protection Department, Hajiya Umma Dutse stressed the need to sensitize consumers persistently on the threat of electronic fraud. She said, “We all understand the effects of fraud. However, from my position, where I  try with my team to ensure the consumer is protected in the financial services sector, the reality of fraud is more real than imagined. Daily, we are inundated with several claims and counter-claims that show how exposed and unprotected we can be when we fail to observe the etiquettes that govern the use of e-payment products.

“In the world we live in today, it has therefore become imperative that consumers are sensitized consistently in order to ensure that they stay not only ahead but also above old, new and emerging threats in our payments system.”