The recent policy of the Nigerian government to transform the economy into a cashless society has thrown organizations and individuals into a challenging situation.
The policy has left everyone with no option than to embrace online options of carrying out transactions. The use of POS machines, USSD codes and online banking by individuals and small businesses is on the increase. However, a lot of individuals who recently embraced these forms of carrying out transactions are not adequately prepared for the change and are not aware of the risks to which they are exposed.
As the country migrates to become a cashless society, there has been an increase in the incidence of fraudulent practices such as hacking of bank accounts, false alerts, identity theft e.t.c
Financial institutions, and the government needs to create a lot of awareness especially to the vulnerable citizens. There is a need to educate them on the risks involved in online banking and how to mitigate against them.
A common fraudulent practice is identity theft. This is a situation where a criminal creates a profile using the victim’s details with the intention of either soliciting for financial assistance with the name of the victim or in some instances to take control of the account of the victim.
A very good example of identity fraud is when intended victims get random calls from individuals who claim to be staff of a financial institution. In some cases, the caller has some accurate information about the victim. If the unsuspecting victim gives out details such as login passwords or card numbers over the phone, the victim is sure to loose all that he has deposited with the bank.
Another prevalent type of fraud is the online vendor identity fraud. This is a situation, where the fraudster opens a business page and advertises fictitious goods or services to attract unsuspecting targets online. The moment payment is made, the fraudster blocks the victim on all platforms and moves on to the next victim.
Phishing is another predominant type of fraud. This is a situation where victims are directed to fraudulent websites where they will be deceived into revealing sensitive banking information.
Some of the ways to mitigate against online fraud are:
- Individuals and small businesses should educate themselves on how to avoid online scams.
- Never reveal sensitive information (such as passwords, ATM numbers, account numbers) over the phone to supposed staff of financial institutions.
- Use several levels of authentications for your phones, social medial accounts, emails and to carry out online banking transactions.
- Always be suspicious, never be eager to click on links that you have not verified.
- When dealing with online vendors, check the profiles carefully, go through the page and read reviews from previous customers. You may want to double check that the page is verified or that the vendor has a physical store before going ahead to transact.
- When paying to online vendors, always ensure the accounts to which payments are made is the same as that of the business. In that case, you are confident that you are dealing with a registered business.
Online fraud leaves its victims psychologically and financially drained. Do all you can to protect yourself from online fraud.
Perfect timing for this article. That ring a bell to inform our HR team to share similar awareness with our field teams.