It has been four years since the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the Cashless Nigeria Policy. Its aim was to encourage the use of electronic systems for all monetary transactions. So far so good, the policy has yielded benefits; it makes many transactions simpler and safer for more people.
The ease in transferring money from one place to another is just one of the many benefits of that policy. However there has been an increase in fraud in the banking and payment systems. Major one is the ATM scams which is being perpetrated by fraudsters.
Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) fraud has become so disturbing and unstoppable that our banks can obviously do just little or nothing to curtail the crime. Reports has it that these fraudsters are relentless in their evil ways as they are always quick to device new techniques each time the old ones become outdated.
These criminals have graduated from petty ATM crimes, they now have a new trick which can actually put you -- the victim -- into serious trouble.
According to a close acquaintance of mine who works as a Support Staff for a commercial bank, and who witnessed these New Crime Cases twice this week, An 18-year-old customer and another 'wealthy' adult customer were victims and now they have their BVN flagged for a lifetime plus they have cases to answer with the Police, and with their bank accounts on Post-No-Debit.
Here is the new trick;
- You walk to an ATM and someone (fraudster) approaches you. The person may show you wads of cash and claim that they have exceeded their withdrawal limit of 150k, and that they still need more cash. They then PLEAD to make a MONEY TRANSFER into your own bank account so that you can withdraw it for them. The danger in agreeing to do this is seemingly harmless, but little did you know that transfers from his or her account are usually made from STOLEN PHONES or HACKED BANK ACCOUNTS!!!
- The real owner of the bank account which the money transfer was initiated from would report to his bank, and the bank would send out a 'circular' to the recipient's bank with instructions to be carried out - which usually includes freezing your own account, BVN flagging, and on most times; an order for your apprehension.
Now after that kind gesture, your account will either be frozen or your BVN will be flagged. This means that the bank would have ordered the security operatives for your apprehension.
The next thing you would discover is that the next time you try to use your ATM card to withdraw, your transactions will be unsuccessful. You then go to your bank and you get the news. It will be very unlikely if there's no MEMO to apprehend you and hand you over to the Police immediately - for something you surely don't know about.
Remember, if you have your BVN flagged, then you are so done with any legal financial dealings.
The 18-year-old boy was sent to withdraw money from his bank account by his Mom. On getting to the ATM, he was held at gun point by the fraudsters and the money transfer was made and subsequently withdrawn before he was released. The money here was 40k. The boy raised an alarm and he was advised to report himself to the Police, and he should follow up with the bank. Now the bank is about to take legal actions against him because he hasn't provided enough proof whatsoever.
Similar thing happened to the other adult customer. He was approached by a fraudster brandishing loads of cash. So, he felt at ease and 'helped', not knowing he had been exposed for flagging. Here, the amount of money involved was 50k. The customer who has about 1 million naira in his bank account has now been undone because of 50k he knows nothing about. Now, there's a MEMO to have the customer arrested anytime he steps into any of the bank branches.
DO NOT HELP ANYBODY AT THE ATM!!! NOT EVEN AN OLD FRIEND, CHURCH MEMBER OR WHATSOEVER. SAY NO TO STRANGERS WHO APPROACH YOU FOR ANY TRANSFER FOR WITHDRAWAL AT THE ATM.
Imagine getting locked up over money you know nothing about other than helping someone to withdraw?
PLEASE DON'T FALL INTO THEIR WAYS!
Images were gotten from here