Fraudsters in Trouble as EFCC Reveals Their Latest Mode of Operation, Sends Important Message to Nigerians
- Nigerians have been urged to avoid the use of stolen phones and even buying for safety reasons, the EFCC noted
- According to the commission, those whose phones have been stolen should block their bank accounts as quickly as possible
- The EFCC gave this advice while noting that fraudsters now have access to bank accounts through stolen phones
On Wednesday, November 2nd, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) advised Nigerians whose phones were stolen to rush to the nearest branch of their banks to block their accounts.
The Sokoto zonal head of the agency, Aliyu Yunusa, gave the advice while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, Daily Trust reported.
Source: Facebook
EFCC identifies two major methods frauds are carried out
Yunusa, who spoke about the increase in ATM-related fraud in Sokoto, identified two major methods through which such frauds were being perpetrated.
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The first method he said was “ATM Swap” which usually occurs when unsuspecting victims visit the ATM machine or POS terminals where the scammers lurk around looking for prospective victims that may require their help in using the ATM.
“The suspects usually offer to help the victims in operating the ATM and in the process swap the card with a dormant ATM card from the same bank.
“After swapping the victim’s card and memorizing his/her pin, the fraudster will simply shrug it off as a temporary network issue and return the already swapped card to the victim while he walks away with the victim’s ATM card.
“The same fraudster will visit another ATM stand, at a later time to comfortably withdraw all the money in the victim’s account or transfers all the savings of the victim to another account,” he said
Second method
The second method, according to him, was “Mobile Phone Theft”.
“In this instance, the stolen mobile phone is usually sold to fraudsters who will in turn, use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data popularly known as USSD to get your bank details from a simple code.
“It helps them know where your bank account is domiciled, but to the novice fraudster he may try every bank’s USSD code until he becomes successful.
“Then use your banks USSID code. They will transfer the content of your account to another bank account, usually of a victim who’s card and pin are in their possession,” he said.
Message to Nigerians
He advised the general public to be more security conscious in protecting their Personal and financial information, especially ATM card, pin, BVN, NIN and mobile phones.
Meanwhile, the command arrested one Yahaya Umar Shagari who was allegedly impersonating law enforcement agents to defraud civil servants.
OKNaira sends ₦77,000 to man without applying for loan, says he must pay ₦120,000 in 6 days or face disgrace
Abraham Oladipupo, a Nigerian resident in Ibadan, Oyo state, has raised alarm after getting ₦77,325.00 loan from an online app, OKNaira, without applying.
Oladipupo shared the details of the ₦77,325.00 alert he got from the loan app on his Facebook page on Saturday, October 22.
Noting that he never registered on OKNaira let alone applied for a loan, Oladipupo said he quickly searched for the app online and sent an email to notify them of the alert.
The illegal activities of online loan apps in Nigeria
For several months, the federal government, through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has been making attempts to put the operators of online loan apps in Nigeria in check.
In March 2022, the FCCPC raided at least seven digital loan companies operating in Lagos over “possible violation” of consumer rights.
The operation led by the commission’s boss, Babatunde Irukera, was in response to several complaints of malpractices on the part of the lenders.
Source: Legit.ng
