EFCC raises alarm over rising ATM, Debit card fraud cases in Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alerted Nigerians on the rate of unauthorized withdrawals through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) from bank accounts of customers, describing it as alarming.

The alert is contained in a statement issued by EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Monday night.

Oyewale, who said that the commission found that such withdrawals are linked to ATM, Debit Card swapping or fraud, noted that the fraudsters engaged in this activity typically keep a debit card from the same bank and, under the guise of assisting a confused bank customer at an ATM, swiftly swap the card while memorising the PIN used with fake cards.

The statement from Oyewale reads,

‘’This card swapping typically happens in any service delivery point, such as Point of Sale, POS, terminals, ATM points, among others. The fraudulent practice is gaining momentum across the country and the banking public is enjoined to be more circumspect in the use of debit cards.’’

The commission in the statement noted that in view of the preceding, the following tips may be useful in avoiding further financial losses by the banking public:

He also assured that the EFCC will not relent in safeguarding personal, corporate and national finances in its quest to rid our nation of all forms of economic and financial crimes.