The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged Nigerians to be careful of ATM swap fraudsters, saying the commission had received a lot of complaints from the public concerning the incident.
The EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Dele Oyewale, made the urge in a statement made available to newsmen.
Oyewale said investigations by the Commission have linked unauthorised withdrawals from customers’ bank accounts to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) day Debit Card swapping or fraud.
He said the fraudsters’ modus operandi involved keeping a debit card from the same bank and swapping the card under the pretence of helping a confused bank customer at any ATM point.
He said: “They swap the card in such a hurry that the customer would not notice and at the same time memorize the pin used in trying the fake cards.
“These cards get stuck in the machine due to a wrong pin and the fraudster quickly abandons the victim, advising him/her to report to the bank while making away with the victim’s card to make immediate withdrawals from the account.
“This card swapping typically happens in any service delivery point, such as Point of Sale (POS) terminals, and ATM points, among others.”
He said that the fraudulent act was gaining momentum across Nigeria and the banking public was enjoined to be more circumspect while using their debit cards.
The commission listed the useful tips that can be adopted by the banking public to avoid further financial losses including keeping cards in sight or a safe place after making any transaction and ensuring that the card actually belongs to oneself.
EFCC advised: “Regularly checking your bank statements for any unknown transaction, setting transaction alerts to monitor any activity on your accounts or with your bank card are also vital in stopping the fraudsters.
“You could also cover the keypad with your hand or body when entering your PIN at POS terminal/ATM machines and never be in a rush to make payments or withdrawals and request for assistance only from officials of the bank.
“Call your banks to block your ATM cards immediately if your cards are stuck in the ATM machines or whenever you observe any irregularity.
“Ensure you know your bank’s ATM offline, blocking code and quickly make use of it whenever it is misplaced or stolen.
