Cyber fraud: “Cease sharing account numbers publicly”- Moniepoint MD 

The Managing Director of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, Mr. Babatunde Olofin, has cautioned Nigerians in opposition to sharing their account numbers publicly, particularly in the course of the festive season, to keep away from falling sufferer to cyber fraud.

Babatunde revealed this in an interview with the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

He emphasised the significance of cyber safety consciousness, warning that such actions might result in unwitting involvement in prison actions and imprisonment.

“My greatest recommendation is for individuals to cease sharing their account numbers in public. Some persons are in jail as a result of that they had no thought what somebody used their accounts for,” Olofin stated.

He defined that fraudsters typically exploit public info to commit monetary crimes, with unsuspecting people bearing the results.

Babatunde emphasised the necessity for vigilance, noting that giveaways are sometimes a guise to reap private particulars.

“Folks don’t love you as a lot to be supplying you with giveaways. So, it’s best to know that they’re harvesting your particulars. Your bank account is a non-public element,” he said.

Widespread fraud ways 

Babatunde detailed how fraudsters use enticing presents of free presents and money rewards to lure victims into sharing their bank particulars.

• He defined that fraud schemes typically contain victims making upfront funds, solely to lose their cash and generally their identities.
• In response to Olofin, some fraud victims have unknowingly participated in crimes like cash laundering as a result of their accounts have been used for illicit transactions, leading to authorized troubles for them.

 “Fraudsters do loads of issues. They construction funds. They know the way inner methods work,” he famous.

Babatunde additionally talked about that in some circumstances, victims’ identities are stolen, and their accounts are misused for illicit actions comparable to cash laundering, resulting in authorized issues.

Strategy to cybersecurity 

• Babatunde disclosed Moniepoint’s collaboration with organizations such because the Nigerian Monetary Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) to boost fraud detection and implement refined safety controls.
• Highlighting Moniepoint’s preventive measures, he famous that the bank has constructed a transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering crew with superior inner guidelines to detect and forestall fraud.

“We’ve constructed up a transaction monitoring and cash laundering crew that has set guidelines internally,” he stated.

What it’s best to know 

Fraud circumstances in Nigerian banks have surged considerably, with a 65% improve reported by the Monetary Establishments Coaching Centre (FITC). The variety of fraud incidents rose from 11,532 in Q2 2024 to 19,007 in Q3 2024.

• Moreover, the quantity concerned in fraud makes an attempt skyrocketed to N115.9 billion in Q3, marking a 105% soar from the N56.6 billion recorded within the earlier quarter.
• Nevertheless, banks efficiently minimized precise losses, with solely N10.1 billion misplaced to fraud in Q3 2024. This represents a 75.4% decline in comparison with the N42.8 billion misplaced in Q2.

Regardless of this progress, Nigerian banks have cumulatively misplaced an estimated N53.4 billion to fraud within the first 9 months of 2024, underscoring the rising risk of monetary crimes and the necessity for heightened vigilance.