“Fraudsters Call Customers”: PalmPay Explains Why Nigerian Banks Lost N6bn to Fraud

• PalmPay has noted its observation on fraud in the Nigerian financial institution
• It blamed customers for not reporting fraud cases to their financial institution immediately
• According to the platform, only 33% of victims report or take the necessary action the same day

PalmPay has explained why many people fall victim to cyber scams and end up losing their money or valuables.

The Nigerian-based fintech company, in a report, highlighted that failing to report fraudulent transactions early enough allows criminals to move the stolen funds to safe places.

It stated that only 33% reported the same day or took the necessary right action on the same day of the event.

Kelvin Olumese, Senior Marketing Manager, PalmPay Nigeria, said:

Read also

Trouble for Nigerian banks in Congo as country's central bank imposes sale of 45% stake

“We have scenarios of fraudsters calling a customer that they won XYZ while cajoling them to disclose sensitive information. This fraudulent act rides on a lack of security awareness and sometimes the greed of the victim. That is what the particular scheme thrives on.”

The report noted that customers must be extra vigilant as criminals can easily spot and exploit different vulnerabilities once they let their guard down.

This comes after a FITC report, which counts the Nigerian Bankers Committee as a member, noted that banks lost N6.03 billion in the first half of 2023.

The report stated that mobile fraud, computer and web fraud, and point-of-sale fraud incidents caused Nigerian banks to register 24,232 fraud instances in the first half of 2023.

According to a BusinessDay report, a KPMG analysis indicated that bad actors are keeping up with the speed and advancements in fintech.

Read also

More scarcity ahead as CBN moves to mop up cash to Tame inflation, strengthen naira

It noted that the criminals frequently work on creating new plans to take advantage of digital payment goods and services.

It explained that this is done to allow them to conceal the source of their illegal activity and exploit holes and flaws in the compliance frameworks of businesses.

Nigerian banks sacked 110 top executives, others for fraud amounting to N82bn.

Legit.ng reported that during the last two years, at least 110 senior bank officials and subordinate employees have been fired for fraud-related charges.

This was revealed in a report titled: 'Reports of Fraud and Forgeries in Nigerian Banks' and published by the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC).

The report was for the second quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2023.

Source: Legit.ng