The e-banking fraud blame game

It had to happen eventually. Some clever dick realised that the security thrown up around Internet banking by the banks would be difficult to crack, but Joe Soap on his home PC was unlikely to have the same levels of security, thereby making him an easy target.

To blame people such as this for not securing their home PCs is akin to a driving instructor blaming a non-driver for crashing a car.

Rodney Weidemann, journalist, ITWeb

New technology - and online banking can certainly still be described as such - inevitably scares the man in the street, because technological developments occur with such frequency these days that it really becomes difficult to keep pace with it.

In fact, it has reached the point for most of us where it really becomes difficult to even catch a fading glimpse of it as it disappears over the next rise.

Nonetheless, I believe Internet banking is great. It avoids all the long queues, it offers you the opportunity to do your banking when it is convenient for you, and it is quicker, easier and far more efficient than dealing with bank staff, who sometimes simply cannot understand what you want to do.

The downside, as we have now discovered, is the potential for fraud and theft. My question is: what is so different between this and any of the other types of fraud that have existed in banking circles for years?

Cheque fraud, credit card swindles, debit scams. All of these have been around for years and people readily accept these as part and parcel of the banking system. In fact, people would generally feel you deserve what you get if you fall for one of these cons.

I recall a few years ago, everyone was nervous about using ATMs, because of the card-swapping, PIN-stealing and other rackets that the criminal element was using to get their hands on other people`s hard-earned cash.

The only thing that eventually turned the tide against this particular form of robbery was the fact that the banks began to educate their customers on the best practices to follow when using these machines.

Which brings me, in a convoluted fashion, to my point. The banks are factually correct when they say it is not their fault. It is true that their security is good and that in that respect, banking online is safe.

However, I do believe that the banks need to share the responsibility in regards to the current spate of robberies.

Since the advent of Internet banking, they have been drumming it into the public that this is a safe way to do business. Joe Public has been very sceptical, but has slowly come around to the idea that maybe they are right.

Now that the first wave of this type of crime has struck, the banks immediately go on the defensive and say: "It`s nothing to do with us, our security is fine - it`s all your fault."

But where has the education been from their side? All along they have been trumpeting how safe and easy this method is, but as soon as something goes wrong, it`s the fault of the public who, in some instances, are people that cannot even programme a VCR.

I know people (in fact, I am one of those people) who are technologically ignorant and wouldn`t know a firewall from a fire engine, and who think that anti-virus programs are the inoculations you give to children.

To blame people such as this for not securing their home PCs is akin to a driving instructor blaming a non-driver for crashing a car. Yes, the non-driver shouldn`t have been behind the wheel, but if the instructor had simply educated him properly, the accident would never have happened.

It is not the banks` fault that these people had their home PCs compromised. It is, however, the banks` fault for telling us that this is a safe way of doing business, then failing to inform us about what needs to be done in order to make sure that both ends of the transaction are secure.