The stuttering voice of a distraught young lady kept listeners of a popular radio programme glued to their radio sets as she recounted her ordeal in the clutch of a vicious fraudster she met on social media. The fraudster wasted no time to wreak havoc on her bank account.
In her narration, this tortuous experience was as a result of an enticing Point of Sales (POS) promotional advert she saw and ignorantly subscribed to on Facebook. The fraudster posed as a sales agent for an online financial institution that was on subsidized sales of POS machines to willing subscribers.
Ignorantly, she quickly grabbed the mouthwatering offer thinking it was God’s answer to her prayer and quest to start a POS business. She subscribed with hope that the business will serve as a major support base for her education.
In her thought, a slight delay could cause the golden opportunity to slip off her fingers. It was therefore a moment of her emancipation.
Basking in the euphoria, she opened up communication with the so-called agent. She willingly provided every piece of information he requested from her, including her Bank Verification Number and other bank account details.
The dubious sales agent spared no time to retain her in his captivity. Leveraging on her desperation, he gave her undisputable hope while stealing money from her bank account. As a maestro of the game, the fraudster sweet talked and assured his victim of the expeditious delivery of the POS machine.
Oblivious of his motive, this lady trusted and ignorantly fall to the fraudulent antics of a stranger, who posed as a helper. What a world! She had no reason to question his integrity. Alas, reality dawn on her when her phone began to beep with messages of debit alerts from her bank. The evil agent did not renege on his effort until the lady’s account was empty. In less than five minutes, she lost over three hundred thousand naira. The poor lady is now fighting hard to track down the pseudo sales agent and recover her stolen money.
This is no doubt a pathetic story. While the Nigeria Police Force has opened an investigation into her complaint, the focus here is on the lessons learnt. Like the popular Hausa saying, if your neighbour’s beard is on fire, you are advised to pour water on yours.
The naira-redesign policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria saw an increase in the percentage of persons using their smartphones for financial transactions. The attendant scarcity of cash that came with this policy at some point gave impetus to a resort to mobile banking to pay bills, receive funds, transfer funds, check account balances, make purchases, and do other financial activities. In other words, mobile banking is now in vogue.
Mobile banking has eased the process of business transactions; distance, time, and procedural protocols are not barriers to its operation. Also, individuals from their comfort zones can easily lodge complains and have their complaints resolved without physical contact with the banking hall.
With the gradual migration to mobile banking, smartphone, and non-smartphone users are now at liberty to use any of these mobile banking methods for their transactions, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), App-based banking, SMS banking, etc.
Notwithstanding the benefits, mobile banking subscribers must take precautionary measures to protect their accounts from marauding fraudsters. Criminal elements are on the prowl across the internet space scouting for potential victims, and any act of laxity could come with dire consequences for the victim.
A fraudster only needs access to information linked to a bank account to perpetrate the crime, which will see a funded account emptied within minutes. It therefore, behooves bank account holders to be circumspect with their ATM cards, Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), Banking Applications including their mobile phones.
This is not a time for people to be careless with their ATM cards, mobile devices, etcetera. In case of loss or misplacement, the issuing bank should be contacted and request made to suspend electronic transactions.
Most people use their mobile phones as custodial for sensitive personal information, including those linked to financial transactions. Today, the hidden motive behind most phone thefts is to harvest information connected to phone owners’ bank accounts. Phone thieves now work as foot soldiers that supply fraudsters with stolen phones to advance their nefarious activities.
It is not ambiguous to state that a mobile phone in the wrong hand is akin to entrusting a dubious rat with custody of your cherished locust beans.
It is pertinent never to trust people with your mobile phone. The phone may not be the target, but the sensitive information contained therein. Hackers will not spare a second to display their skills if the opportunity presents itself. Therefore, patrons of commercial charging hubs must do so with caution.
To outsmart these charlatans to their game, individuals must make deliberate effort to protect their mobile devices. Nothing should be left to chance. Mobile devices should be fortified with proper security. Purchase of goods online, especially via platforms that request for card details, should be done with caution and discreet checks should be conducted to ascertain the credibility of the platform. A stitch in time saves nine.
–Anjuguri Manzah wrote from Abuja
