EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN E-BANKING AND CYBER CRIME (A CASE STUDY OF FIDELITY BANK PLC

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

There are few innovations that have changed the dynamics of banking as much as the e-banking revolution. Throughout the world, banks are reorganizing their business strategies to take advantage of new business opportunities offered by e-banking. Electronic banking is believed to have started in the early 1980s. It has since then been growing in an unprecedented dimension in line with the growth in ICT development. E-banking has enabled banks to overcome borders, adopt strategic outlook, and bring in new possibilities. According to Nitsure(2003), information communication technology has reduced the cost of processing and facilitating the transmission of information leading to drastic changes in the banking business. It is worth noting that e-banking has not been limited to advanced countries, but is found even in countries with underdeveloped e-banking systems, as a result of the many new business opportunities offered by e-banking.

Although no official definition of e-banking has been established, it generally implies a service that allows customers to use some form of computer to access account-specific information and possibly conduct transactions from a remote location like home or workplace. Additionally, e-banking has obvious advantages to the customer in terms of convenience where customers conduct routine banking transactions from the comfort and security of any location from which they wish to transact. The emerging concept of e-banking has drawn the attention of the business fraternity as well as of scholars and researchers to the effects of such dynamics on the banking industry. For instance, Liao and Wong (2008) in their study of the determinants of customer interactions with Internet-enabled e-banking found that factors such as perceived usefulness, ease of use, security, convenience, and responsiveness to service requests to be a strong measure of the variation in customer interactions. Based on this finding, they suggested that stringent security control is critical to e-banking operations. Such arguments do not only have managerial implications for enhancing Internet banking operations and developing viable electronic banking services, but also form the basis upon which this study is based.

E-banking technology created a revolution by extending banking hours beyond office hours and beyond national boundaries (Balachandran&Balachandher, 2000). In Nigeria, several studies on e-banking have been done. Chiemeke, Evwiekpaefe, &Chete(2006), for instance, conducted a pragmatic study on adoption of e-banking where major hindering factors to Internet banking adoption such as insecurity and inadequate operational facilities, including telecommunications facilities and electricity supply, were identified.

Crime and corruption represent a major concern for business executives not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of Africa (Olasanmi, 2006). In Nigeria, for instance, the most serious impediments to economic activities and business are crime and corruption which averages 75% and 71% respectively. Theft and fraud are the second most popular crimes after burglary. By definition, cyber crime may be referred to as any form of misconduct in cyber space. It is simply defined as the criminal use of the Internet. Cyber crime is believed to have started in the 1960’s in the form of hacking. This was followed by privacy violations, telephone tapping, trespassing and distribution of illegal materials in the 1970s. The 1980s witnessed the introduction of viruses. The fast pace of development of ICT from the 1990s till today has added to the list of criminal exploits in cyber space. Today, the Internet is used for espionage and as a medium to commit terrorism and transnational crimes. With e-banking gaining ground in Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, customers and online buyers are facing great risk of unknowingly passing on their information to fraudsters. "Hackers” get information of those who have made purchases through websites and then make fake cards, which they use with less detection. Absence of a law specifically dealing with card-related crimes in Nigeria may be giving thieves a loophole to operate freely (Olasanmi, 2006). Police treat card-related crimes like any other case of fraud.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is examining the types of cybercrimes that have economic impact either directly or indirectly on the financial system of a nation or having cross border ripple effects with focus on e-banking. Longe&Chiemeke (2008) simplified the list of unintended consequences of ICT to include acts such as Phishing, cyber terrorism, electronic spam mails, cyber-stalking, and fake copy -cat websites. While some types of cyber crimes are specific to Nigeria, other types, such as identity theft and false statements, cut across all countries.

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To evaluate the relationship between e-banking and cyber crime.
2. To identify factors militating against effective e-banking services.
3. To determine the solution to the issues of cybercrimes that are related to e-banking.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the relationship between e-banking and cyber crime?
2. What are factors militating against effective e-banking services?
3. What is the solution to the issues of cybercrimes that are related to e-banking?

1.5   HYPOTHESIS

HO: There is no significant relationship between e-banking and cybercrime.

HA: There is significant relationship between e-banking and cybercrime.

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The following are the significance of this study:

1. The outcome of this study will educate the general public especially the users of e-banking services on the relationship between e-banking and cybercrime.
2. This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the effect of personality trait on student’s academic performance, thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.

1.7   SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study will cover the relationship between e-banking services and cybercrime in Nigeria using Fidelity Bank Plc as the case.

LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work