Dubai – Masaader News
Reinforcing its role in fighting the growing menace of fraud, the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the professional body representing 48 banks in the UAE, and for the second consecutive year, announces its full support to the International Fraud Awareness Week as an ambassador of fraud awareness during the campaign that runs from 12-18 November.
The UBF joins a group of organizations to partner with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education, to support the annual Fraud Week movement that champions the need to proactively fight fraud and help safeguard businesses and investments from the growing fraud problem.
“Our collaborations with ACFE comes in a year that saw a spate of cyberattacks and data breaches, which shook the whole world and cost billions to business around the globe. As a major stakeholder in the UAE’s financial services sector and the wider economy, we understand our responsibility towards striving for an ecosystem free of fraud, corruption and all kinds of financial crime, where businesses can flourish and achieve their goals and growth targets. Educating companies and employees about the evolving landscape of fraud, and informing them of the latest trends in fraud prevention and detection are the first steps towards minimizing the exposure and impact of fraud, and this is what we are trying to achieve by taking part in this novel initiative,” said H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation.
According to ACFE’s 2016 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, fraud costs organizations worldwide an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues, which could easily run into billions. The Telecommunications Regulations Authority (TRA) of the UAE said last month that it foiled a total of 561 cyberattacks, the second most reported crime faced by businesses in the Middle East, targeting public and private organization in the first half of the year alone.
ACFE President James D. Ratley, CFE, said that the support of organizations around the world helps make Fraud Week an effective tool in raising anti-fraud awareness.
“The latest statistics reveal that fraud isn’t going away, and companies that don’t have protective measures in place stand to lose the most,” Ratley said. “That’s why it is reassuring to me to see so many businesses, agencies, universities and other organizations involved in the Fraud Week movement. The first step in combating fraud is raising awareness worldwide that it is a serious problem that requires a proactive approach toward preventing it.”
“Since our first Fraud Week almost 20 years ago, the movement continues to grow,” Ratley said. “I heartily thank all of the supporters of Fraud Week for making it what it is today.”
As part of its continuous efforts to raise public awareness, the UBF has recently released easy-to-implement tips on financial fraud. Furthermore, the Fraud Prevention Committee of the organization has plans to launch its initiative calling for creating a central fraud repository, in collaboration with Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), in order to mitigate application and lending fraud in the UAE.
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