The boy who slept in his shoes

He could easily be mistaken for a graduate of one of Jamaica's more well-positioned secondary schools, exuding confidence, pizazz and self-assuredness that was visible even in his gait. But Dane Nicholson, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA) anti-fraud guru, embraces his Oberlin High School history with great pride.

It may seem hard to believe that someone of such lean years could be wearing a crown bearing so much weight, especially at a time when customers and financial institutions are being increasingly targeted by crooks.

But, as he explained it, there is no problem too big that cannot be solved, even if not immediately, and he is relentless in pursuit of a solution.

He said the lion did not become king of the jungle because of timidity, but tenacity and dominance, and, growing up in King Weston district in rural St Andrew, he may have set sights on an early throne.

Nicholson would not be offended if he were called the king of the anti-fraud jungle, but victims of such fraud may not curtsy so readily.

He had first set his sights on becoming a police officer but, by university, he made a shift towards being a forensic accountant. His current roles and responsibilities embrace both as he chairs the JBA's Anti-Fraud Committee and manages the development and administration of the fraud-prevention programme of NCB and its subsidiaries.

“This includes [ensuring there is] an appropriate framework and mechanism to prepare and identify and mitigate fraud, and to evaluate and report on fraud-related security risks, to ensure that the enterprise assets are adequately protected. I am also responsible for leading the NCB's Fraud Prevention Unit, and for developing, implementing and maintaining the necessary policies, procedures and controls, and for coordinating training programmes as it relates to ensuring that staff members are au fait with all the best practices that are associated with fraud prevention,” he told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

It's a big deal for Nicholson and he is very much aware of the weight on his shoulders, the expectation of industry operatives, and his own intention to build an airtight reputation of recognising and tackling fraud in the sector.

But there was more.

“I am also responsible for putting together an investigative framework to assist in preventing, monitoring, detecting and investigating matters relating to fraud and misconduct in respect of NCB customers, business partners, employees, and business information, in compliance with the organisation's information system, anti-money laundering and anti-fraud policies,” he added.

Nurtured by strong women, great mentors

Nicholson tells the story of being raised on the strength and prayers of his mother Millicent Nicholson, grandmother Doris Phipps, and aunt Corrine Jackwette. His gratitude to them, especially his mother, with whom he talks “every single day”, is unquantifiable. He is particularly happy that his grandmother, who died three weeks ago, was also able to see the seed of their sacrifice bear fruit.

It was also predictable that he would marry a strong and resilient woman, as he found in his wife Jhenelle.

Nicholson recalled growing up in rural St Andrew in a house that leaked profusely when it rained. A catchment bucket would be placed on the bed on rainy days and he and his siblings would sleep around it.

After his younger brother was bitten by rats as he slept, Nicholson began sleeping in his shoes to prevent suffering the same fate. This fear became a further catalyst to live his dream and to take his family out of poverty.

“I remember how dire our situation was while growing up, that rats took over at one point in time. ... I come from very humble beginnings, but my mother ensured that we received a firm education. She worked very hard to send us to school and, even when she could not pay the extra lesson fees, she would tell the teachers to provide the service and she would pay after,” he explained, adding that partner draws would often rescue them.

When he matriculated to university, Nicholson embraced the wisdom of NCB owner Michael Lee-Chin that the earlier one finds a mentor and learns the recipe for compounding interest, the more astronomical the results will be. And, throughout his life, Nicholson has had many mentors, including Lee-Chin, Richard Hinds, Howard Gordon, Patrick Hylton, Septimus 'Bob' Blake, Dave Garcia, Misheca Seymour-Senior and Ann McMorris Cover.

“Mentorship and hard work allow me to excel. I go by the lion's mindset, which is fearless and ruthless in terms of how we operate. So, no challenge is too big for me to conquer. So how did the lion become king of the jungle? Not because he is the fastest nor the strongest but because of his mindset. I live by that mantra,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Stressing the importance of mentorship, Nicholson recalled telling some persons he considered close friends then that NCB would be promoting him to a senior position in a major move. Those friends never spoke to him again. The lesson learnt, he said, is that your “friends” do not necessarily share your aspirations. Nor do they always want to see you advance.

The way forward in fraud fight

Nicholson sees contactless cards and digital payments as the way of the future, noting that watches, phones and other portable devices will become much more popular for processing payments. He said that in some parts of North America and Europe, without a chip card presenting as payment, an individual may “die of hunger”.

Financial institutions, he reasoned, will have to become proactive in educating the public so that they embrace these methods.

“If we continue to do transactions the way we used to do five, 10 years ago, we are only setting ourselves back because the world has evolved. If you go to Europe with a magnetic stripe card, you will die for hunger because there are no terminals – POS (point of sale) or ABMs – in those areas that will accept it. You have to have contactless or a chip card,” he added, suggesting that local financial institutions move away from mag stripe cards.

Admitting that financial fraud is growing worldwide, Nicholson said that criminals have also stepped up their activities to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information. Among them are romance scams.

“Romance scams peaked during COVID and continue as we speak. Persons go to the dating sites for genuine love, but embedded in that are cybercriminals seeking to deceive individuals financially. So both males and females will go there, strike up conversations and a relationship with an individual, take their contact information, and begin contacting them directly to, say, plan to come to Jamaica to marry them or send packages,” he disclosed.

He said one young woman wired nearly $400,000 to a man she met online who had promised to send her Gucci bags, laptops and cell phones, but she had to send funds to pay duties. He vanished after receiving the money.

Spoofing of websites has been used to get customer information. And there are also schemes such as SIM-swapping and email takeover, he noted, reiterating the need for customer education.

“Criminals have morphed themselves all over the place, but the most popular spots are gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets,” he stated.

Concerns have been raised by elements in the religious community about a push to go cashless. But Nicholson, who was raised by praying women, said he is encouraging the churches to get digital, as POS machines and other forms of digital payments have nothing to do with the mark of the beast.

On one hand, he said, some churches were preaching against going digital and cashless, but many had surrendered personal data to their cell phones with eye recognition or fingerprints used as security features.

“I would encourage them to get with the time. Get digital and make it more convenient for all,” said the anti-fraud guru.

University students driving fraud

Data suggest that the greater part of the fraud locally is being perpetuated by university students.

“It's a dynamic scene, but we have now, young university, first- and second-year students who are in IT programmes in computing, who are involved in this type of activities. We find a lot of that happening,” Nicholson told The Sunday Gleaner.

“We also have career criminals who are involved in this type of activity. They would have been involved from a tender age. They would have been arrested and charged multiple times for this type of activity,” he added.

While there is a mix of genders perpetrating fraud, Nicholson said there was “a slight advantage to the men”, noting that, at one time, women outnumbered men in such schemes.

Victims have included both males and females and not just the elderly. Anyone can be defrauded, he warned, pointing out that even tech-savvy persons have fallen victims to this.

“We also have some international players in the space as well, who are responsible for ransomware and data breaches. But the university cohort locally is driving the fraud, based on our profile. Persons from different universities have been fingered in the nefarious activities,” he said.

Jamaica and the financial sector, Nicholson said, have the capacity to trace criminals through the dark underworld, and many have been tracked and arrested. He recalled a group that was responsible for compromising the ABM system islandwide, which was tracked to Green Island in Westmoreland. Among the group was a former security personnel. Although he did not reveal the exact extent of their activity, he said it involved a significant dollar value.

Nicholson warned the perpetrators that he and the system in place would be in relentless pursuit of them, and advised that they, instead, focus on doing good.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com