A top executive of a banking association, Heiner Herkenhoff, is calling for a closer collaboration in the fight against fraud schemes. According to an interview with the news portal T-Online, he suggested that all parties, including banks, authorities, IT and media companies, social media platforms and telecommunications providers, should be brought together to address the issue.
Herkenhoff emphasized that the focus should be on protecting people and increasing awareness, rather than solely blaming the banks for the problem. He made it clear that fraudsters do not target the IT systems of banks, but rather manipulate people and that even a secure bank infrastructure cannot prevent a customer from giving away their login credentials or making a transfer if they are tricked into doing so.
He also warned of the dangers of phone scams, in which criminals try to convince customers to reveal their PIN numbers or make immediate transfers, stating that a bank representative would never call to ask for a PIN number or demand an immediate transfer.
The banking association is aware of the threat and is already working closely with authorities, such as the German Federal Office for Information Security, Herkenhoff stated. He added that the exchange of information between banks, IT security experts and the government is essential to better protect people from fraud.
Herkenhoff also warned of the increasing number of cyberattacks on banks, describing it as a serious threat, but not an immediate danger. Banks are investing heavily in security systems and have crisis plans in place for various scenarios, he said. However, the challenge is to stay one step ahead of the hackers, as the latter are also becoming more sophisticated.