The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and City of London Police are planning to train thousands of bankers a year to spot scams and act quickly to protect customers.
Using techniques developed in the fight against terrorism, the banking trade association and police want to create a “virtual ring of steel” around the City, echoing the physical security that countered Irish republican terrorism.
The agreement follows working between banks and the City of London Police which has prevented fraudsters and cyber criminals from stealing £173.9m from bank customers over the last nine months. Information circulated by the force’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) to businesses, and sent by the BBA as alerts to banks, has led to the identification of 20,000 accounts that were at risk of, or being used to acquire money from victims between April and December 2013.
Using information received from a variety of sources, the NFIB identifies suspect bank accounts which are being or may be used to take money from UK citizens or businesses. Once an alert is issued steps are taken to terminate these accounts, to prevent or reduce further victimisation and harm. The two say they now aim to establish a global centre of excellence to train banks from around the world. The training will focus on cyber crime threats and techniques in fraud, bribery and corruption.
Commissioner Adrian Leppard, of the City of London Police, said: “Over the past 175 years we have learned that the best way to keep the City streets safe is by standing shoulder to shoulder with those who live or work in the Square Mile, or who visit for leisure purposes. Now in 2014, and serving the country as the national policing lead for economic crime, the City of London Police is also focusing on the rapidly evolving and expanding threat of fraud and cyber crime. The next logical step for us to take is to create a ‘virtual ring of steel’ around what is the financial engine room of the UK. The way we are going to do it is by teaming up with City workers and sharing our experience and expertise with the banks that are now the target or being used as a facilitator for organised crime.”
Anthony Browne, BBA Chief Executive, said: “Cyber crime and fraud are some of the biggest security threats that we face. The systems that we have set up with the City of London Police have helped to protect hundreds of millions of pounds of customers’ money, but we want to go further.
“We want to create a virtual ring of steel around the City of London, to make it even more difficult for cyber criminals to operate here. The banks are often the first line of defence against fraudsters and criminals. By working together we know we can be even more effective at combating cybercrime in order to offer even better protection to our customers.”
