Abstract:
This study investigates the critical role of cyber security awareness in combating financial fraud and scams within the banking sector. The inquiry used a concurrent research design and targeted bank employees and customers. Sampling techniques included stratified random and purposive sampling, resulting in a sample size of 400 customers and 156 employees. Data collection involved questionnaires and interviews, with analysis techniques including frequency, percentage, ANOVA, independent sample t-tests, and regression analysis. Findings indicate limited awareness among bank customers and to some extent of experts, with varying levels of cyber fraud occurrences. Human elements significantly contribute to cyber fraud success. Cyber security awareness is crucial in combating financial fraud and scams in banking, necessitating robust mitigation strategies. In conclusion, there's insufficient awareness of cyber fraud and scams, with varying prevalence of cyber fraud and scams. Though several mitigation methods exist, they're underutilized. Therefore, banks and customers should grasp the nature and types of cyber threats; and prioritize cyber security awareness as the primary defense against the escalating risk of cyber fraud and scams in the banking finance system
