By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa’s largest retail bank, Access Bank Plc, has launched a campaign to educate its numerous customers about the latest tactics used by fraudsters to gain access to bank accounts.
This is part of the efforts of the financial institution to protect customers from e-banking fraud, a development giving several lenders and financial services consumers some sleepless nights.
Access Bank, as a bank that cares for its customers, has continued to work round-the-clock to be ahead of the criminal elements, necessitating the new awareness campaign to update the knowledge of its customers.
In the new campaign themed Banks Don’t Ask, the banking institution is focusing on three key activities that account for most fraud incidents in Nigeria, phishing, SIM card fraud, ATM fraud and POS fraud.
From all indications, the rates of phishing, SIM card fraud, ATM fraud and POS fraud in the country has tripled in the past few years.
Also, the sophistication with which these activities are carried out has evolved, resulting in unsuspecting customers being highly susceptible to these criminal activities.
“In the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the rate of internet-based and technology-perpetrated fraud,” the executive director in charge of Retail Banking at Access Bank, Mr Victor Etuokwu, stated.
“We want to ensure that our customers are not only protected but are also aware of the tactics employed by fraudsters.
“Access Bank will never request for personal banking information such as your 16-digit card number, password, PIN, BVN, CVV or One-Time Password (OTP).
“So, customers are also advised to never share this information with anyone even if they claim to be from the bank,” he stated.
The bank said customers willing to report suspicious activities (phone calls, emails or text messages) can call Access Bank on 01- 2712005 or send a mail to [email protected].
To prevent SIM card fraud in cases of lost or stolen devices, customers can simply *901*911# from any phone to deactivate their USSD profile.
