By Elizabeth Chukwuma
Over the years, scammers had used the name of UBA, a pan African and best run digital Bank in Nigeria to defraud Customers. A Value News Correspondent was one of such victims in 2016, where his saving Accounts was cleared, leaving only N1,000.00 in the Account. Given the bad image the scammers are causing the Bank, it appears to have risen to up to the challenge to educate customers on how to avoid such scammers. Here are the tips:
‘’Scammers may send you an unsolicited e-mails that are supposedly from your Bank’’ as the Customer’s address could easily be faked. A clear example of a scammer email that was said to have been allegedly sent by one Michael Ferguson , uba.ng@emailepa .gob.ec, was said to have been sent to targeted UBA customer on May9, 2019.
The Bank which is not ready and watch any of its loyal Customers lose their hard earned money to scammers, has warned may those that cares to listen that the fraudsters use different tactic to perpetuate their fraud as they may decide to use a website link which look similar like that of the official UBA Group Websit. Appealing to Customers to take a closer on such alleged UBA website, they would be able identify the character difference and quickly block the fraudster. This may have informed why the Bank has repeatedly warned Customers to be careful of such fake emails coming their way.
Another tip , the Bank had obliged Customers to safeguard their Accounts from scammers was to ignore requests for ‘’correct date of birth on your BVN’’. Many Nigerians have been duped over the years going by police and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, reports through release of personal information as requested by scammers. This is evident going by a message that was said to have been sent to an undisclosed UBA Customer recently: we have checked your online Banking, login details and now make a transfer to your Bank Account immediately.
While scammers appear to be getting smarter by the day to deal with their victims, the UBA, digital Bank Staff have continued to uncover their new tricks which are made available to customers in order to protect their Accounts from the Cyber Crime fraudsters. ’’ scammers are getting wiser,don’t give them access to your information, the Bank had warned.
Insiders told The Value News that through this well informed security information on how to protect personal Account details, UBA, had saved billions of naira, for Customers who could have been duped through these bogus emails in the last four years. The credit, according a top Banker, goes to Tony Elumelu , Group Chairman, UBA, and founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation who had succeed in revolutionalising the Bank as a world class financial Institution.
There is no gain saying the fact that Kennedy Uzoka, the Group Managing of UBA, who had toed the managerial style of Elumelu, in running the World Class Bank , also has succeeded in reducing areas of leakage used by scammers to defraud Customers that it has become a first time choice for Customers wishing to open a personal or Organisations wishing to open Corporate Accounts because of the safety of their savings.
UBA may not be alone in trying to alert Customers about tactics used by scammers to defraud unsuspecting victims.. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, may have joined the fray in exposing the tactics of scammers as it had continued to warn Nigerians to avoid phone scams.
Note that that fraudulent tele marketers had found it as one of the easiest way to steal Customers money by using Cheques issued to them to commit the fraud . ‘’If a caller asks for a your Current Account number , debit Card number or any other information printed on your cheque book, you need to follow the same warning that applies to the Credit Card’’, the Bank, advised.
The CBN , which is a Banker’s could not keep the information to the Bank alone, as it has appealed to Customers never to give out their Current Account or debit Information over the phone but should be the one that would initiate such calls but with a familiar with the Company.
Having observed the trend of the phone scammers over the years, the CBN , warned, that any Customer who gives his Cheque or debit card Account number to an unknown person for verification or Computer purposes, that person may use it to’’ Withdraw money from the Account , illegally’’. Many Bank Customers , over the years had complained about unauthorized Withdrawals their Current Accounts but that was how far they could go.
Between January and June last year, the CBN had reported that UBA and other Banks across the country had lost N12.06 to scammers. The Bank had reported that the cases involved fraudulent ATM Withdrawals, illegal funds transfer among others. The apex Bank had disclosed that scammers had succeeded in swindling Bank Customers over the ears, despite measures put in place to curb such frauds and clean up the financial system. This may have informed why Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN, and his Management team have stepped up monitoring of the Banks to reduce to the barest minimum the Banking frauds.
