By Osman Draga
As the use of mobile phone banking continues to grow, there are also increasing dangers of criminal and fraudulent processes taking place.
Many people are attempting to acquire sensitive information by masquerading as a trustworthy entities through electronic communications.

There is skepticism on whether mobile phone banking is safe because criminal minds with nefarious intentions are everywhere – on the Internet, thieves and scammers are many.

Now that we are using mobile phones for banking, these same criminals are looking at the next digital opportunity to steal from.

As history has demonstrated, we may not be completely ready to meet this new threat. When the World Wide Web was established in the mid 1980s, users had no idea that it could expose them to viruses and other dangers.

Computer programmer, John MacAfee developed his famous anti-virus programme in 1989, but it took ordinary computer users nearly five years to protect themselves from online viruses.
The same slow reaction time against mobile phone threats may be history repeating itself.

Just as cyber-crooks figured out clever ways to trick computer users into turning over credit card information, bank accounts, eBay-in information through email scams and viral key logger programmes, they are now targeting mobile phone users.

The crooks have realised our phones provide easy access to bank accounts and they are actively looking for ways to get their hands on our money or credit.

Although currently only about 3% of online banking customers are using mobile phone banking, the number is expected to shoot high. However, the distressing facts about the mobile systems of computing and communication is a threat to doing business on the phone.

To bank safely, banks should make authentic sites right down to the bank’s logo. The government should provide legislation on mobile banking issues. User training, public awareness and technical security measures should be established in order to safeguard mobile bank users from the growing number of hackers.

We also need to do homework from choosing well-known banking websites and ensuring the mobile banking systems we are using are secure.
The writer is a freelance journalist