Oshana police urges banks, customers to be vigilant

With the festive season approaching, the police in the Oshana region are urging banks, security companies and the community to be vigilant of fraudulent activities.

Oshana police regional commander commissioner Lungameni Sakaria says bank customers should be aware of bank-related scams to avoid falling victim to them.

He said this during a closed-door engagement meeting with the banking sector and security companies on Thursday at Oshakati.

He said most of this fraud is usually perpetrated internally as well as externally by criminals and international syndicates that use sophisticated methods.

“It is that time of the year and we all need to be vigilant,” he said.

He noted that the police want to tackle how banks can help to make sure clients who withdraw large amounts of money in cash are protected.

“There should be communication with the police for assistance and escort to or from the banks to wherever they intend on taking the money. As the police, we also want to make sure that the community understands that there are other means of transmitting money from one point to another without having to carry cash from the bank to wherever they are taking it,” said Sakaria.

He urged the banking sector to arrange possible ways to issue out huge amounts of money to clients in cash without risking their clients’ lives.

Sakaria advised banks and security companies to be on alert at all times, especially when transporting huge amounts of money, to avoid cash heist incidents.