The Managing Director of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, Babatunde Olofin, has urged Nigerians to avoid sharing their account numbers publicly, especially during the festive season, to protect themselves from cyber fraud and potential legal troubles.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, Olofin stressed that sharing account details in public could lead to involvement in criminal activities unknowingly, putting individuals at risk of imprisonment.
“Some people are in prison because they had no idea what someone used their accounts for,” he warned.
Olofin explained that fraudsters often use giveaways and attractive offers to lure victims into revealing their personal details, which can then be exploited for illegal activities.
“People don’t love you as much to be giving you giveaways. They are harvesting your details. Your bank account is a private detail,” he stated.
Fraud tactics typically involve convincing victims to provide their account details or make upfront payments for fake rewards. These schemes can result in financial loss, identity theft, and even the misuse of victims’ accounts for crimes like money laundering, which leads to severe legal repercussions.
“Fraudsters structure funds and know how internal systems work,” Olofin added.
Olofin outlined Moniepoint’s efforts to combat fraud through partnerships with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He highlighted the bank’s investment in advanced transaction monitoring systems and anti-money laundering teams to prevent fraudulent activities.
“We’ve built a transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering team with set rules internally to detect and prevent fraud,” Olofin said.
Data from the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) reveals a sharp rise in fraud cases within Nigerian banks, increasing by 65% from 11,532 incidents in Q2 2024 to 19,007 in Q3 2024.
The amount involved in fraud attempts more than doubled, reaching N115.9 billion in Q3 compared to N56.6 billion in the previous quarter. However, improved security measures helped banks reduce actual losses to N10.1 billion in Q3, a 75.4% decline from the N42.8 billion lost in Q2.
Despite these efforts, Nigerian banks have lost an estimated N53.4 billion to fraud in the first nine months of 2024, underscoring the urgent need for heightened cybersecurity awareness among the public and financial institutions.
Olofin advised Nigerians to remain vigilant during the festive season and treat their bank account information as private, avoiding the temptation to share details publicly or participate in suspicious giveaways. He emphasized that such actions are crucial to staying safe from fraud and avoiding unintended legal consequences.
