Avoiding Financial Fraud, the Burden Placed on Ghanaian Indigenous Banks (A Case Study of Agricultural Development Bank, Koforidua)

The study examined types of financial fraud, causes of financial fraud at Agricultural, measures put in place to mitigate financial fraud and the challenges faced in implementing measures put in place to mitigate financial fraud at Agricultural Development Bank, Koforidua. This study adopted purposive and snowballing as the sampling techniques with a sample size of forty (40) respondents. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. The study revealed that the main causes of financial fraud were inadequate training and re-training, poor salaries and lack of appropriate punishment to fraudster. The study found out that the use of passwords protection systems, engaging in reference check on employees and promoting continuous auditing are the other factors mitigating against financial fraud. The study further established that financial fraud causes banks' asset quality to deteriorate and loss of money belonging to either the bank or the clients.  The study concluded that thorough step-by-step model needs to be established to identify fraud tactics, prevent future fraudulent acts from developing, and provide guidance for dealing with fraud and taking action against perpetrators. The study recommended that extremely effective protection software be implemented in the computer system, such as password protection, firewall, and filtering software. This is especially true when it comes to avoiding cybercrime such as phishing and other internet financial frauds.