On the CBN’s ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme’

In an effort to sustain the encouraging increase in inflow of diaspora remittances into the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria on 5th of March 2021 announced the introduction of the “CBN Naira 4 Dollar Scheme”.

According to the CBN, the Circulars to this effect was issued in an effort to liberalize, simplify and improve the receipt and administration of diaspora remittances into Nigeria. It was also stated that the clarifications and amendments are aimed at stabilizing and deepening the foreign exchange market, providing more liquidity, and creating transparency, especially in the administration of diaspora remittances into Nigeria. This is good.

Looking at this from a cyber fraud standpoint. This scheme as much as it favors individuals with overall reduced transfer fee it also will inadvertently be rewarding fraudsters picking up stolen western union transferred money in Nigeria. Criminals patronizing other criminals who use stolen credit cards and compromised bank accounts to send dollars via western union will now get #5000 for every $1000 received.

Western Union has been in the money transfer business for nearly 150 years. From its prime vantage, Western Union has seen pretty much every type of financial fraud from faux social media postings to password phishing for financial accounts, scammers have found countless ways to get their hands-on other peoples’ money.

The prevalence of fraud in Nigeria has hardly diminished over the years in spite of policy measures and continuous effort of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to reduce cyber fraud to the barest minimum. If anything, it has easily kept pace with the growing marketplace and fast-paced globalization of commerce, and the technological advancements giving fraudsters and con-artists more avenues into our finances. The Nigerian economy has been bedeviled by several issues that require appropriate policy measures with cybercrime at the top-shelf. To improve resilience, a well-thought-out policy needs to be implemented to make cybercrime more difficult for cyberfraudsters looking to take advantage of any form of vulnerability.