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Dr AbdelGadir Warsama Ghalib explained in a column published Saturday that the rapid growth of electronic banking has created opportunities for criminals to deploy increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes aimed at stealing customer credentials and funds. The corporate legal counsel identified phishing as a leading threat in which fraudsters send deceptive emails or text messages that direct users to counterfeit websites designed to mimic legitimate banks and capture card numbers along with login information. A Javelin Strategy & Research assessment found that phishing losses inside identity fraud tripled from $70 million in 2024 to $215.8 million in 2025.
Ghalib described identity theft as a rapidly growing concern that manifests in forms ranging from unauthorized credit card charges to the complete assumption of an individual’s identity for opening accounts and obtaining loans. The Javelin Strategy & Research 2026 Identity Fraud Study placed overall U.S. identity fraud losses at $27.3 billion in 2025, essentially unchanged from the previous year yet marked by an 18 percent rise in account takeover incidents affecting 6 million victims. He urged customers to treat any unsolicited request for personal details with suspicion since scammers routinely employ believable narratives to extract information.
Viruses and trojans constitute especially destructive malware that infiltrates computers without user awareness to harvest data, impair system functions or deliver unwanted advertisements, according to Ghalib. Such programs propagate by infecting one device and replicating while trojans often pose as legitimate software to embed themselves and monitor user behavior. The legal expert advocated consistent use of firewalls and current antivirus protections to minimize infection risks and prevent inadvertent downloads.
Spyware and adware frequently arrive bundled with free applications or through pop-up advertisements that covertly gather personal data and track online habits primarily for marketing ends, Ghalib noted. He warned against engaging with unverified banners or downloads and stressed the value of dedicated security software to identify and eliminate these intrusions. Figures from the Identity Theft Resource Center documented a record number of data breaches in 2025 that continue supplying fraudsters with material for identity-related crimes.
Card skimming operations rely on hidden devices attached to ATMs or compromised EFTPOS terminals to capture magnetic stripe data and PIN codes that are later encoded onto counterfeit cards for fraudulent withdrawals, Ghalib wrote. Perpetrators may overlay fake panels and install concealed cameras to record keystrokes while the tampering often evades notice without physical inspection of the equipment. This method exploits the physical interfaces that many customers still use alongside digital channels.
Mobile scams complete the roster of prominent e-banking threats by targeting users of smartphone applications through fraudulent messages or malicious apps that seek to divert funds or extract credentials, the counsel added. The FBI Internet Crime Report for 2023, the most recent comprehensive annual compilation available, recorded 880,418 cybercrime complaints that produced $12.5 billion in victim losses. Ghalib emphasized that heightened individual vigilance across all digital transactions remains essential to counter these persistent and evolving risks.
