How to Prevent Cybercriminals from Accessing your Bank Account

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc recently sent out notifications to its customers warning them about a message that was sent out by fraudsters claiming to represent the bank.

The fraudulent message, which was seen by Business Elites Africa, was an apparent phishing attempt devised to defraud unsuspecting GTBank customers. Specifically, the message asked customers to click certain links and disclose certain information about their bank accounts. Doing this would make it easier for the criminals to compromise customers’ accounts.

“Dear customer, a charge of N91, 000:00 will be deducted from your account for the cummulated  stamp duty charges for August and the new FGN VAT increase of 7.2%. If you wish to reject the registration request, follow the cancel reference below…

“NOTE: If you do not respond within 12 hours of this notice, you will receive a successful debit alert on your account confirming your registration,” the fraudulent message said in parts. See the rest of it right here.

This is one of the fraudulent new ways cyber criminals are now targeting unsuspecting Nigerian bank account owners, defrauding them of their hard-earned money. In view of this, therefore, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc warned customers to ignore phishing emails and messages from fraudsters.

“You may get fraudulent email like the one above asking you to cancel a registration request or stamp duty charges, and update your KYC details. Please, do not take such messages seriously, interact with them, or click any of the links in them. WE DIDN’T SEND THAT.

“As your bank, we will never send you an email or SMS asking you for your token, log in details, and other personal banking information. We also would not ask you to cancel any registration or enter your details for conformation.” 

So, how can you prevent fraudsters from accessing your account?

Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a fraud alert to the Nigerian public about the alarming rate of cybercrime activities in the country. According to the apex bank, cybercriminals resorted to taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud citizens, steal sensitive information, or gain unauthorized access into computers or mobile devices using different techniques. You may keep up with that by clicking here.

As you can see in GTBank’s message to customers above, the best way to prevent fraudsters from gaining access into your bank account is simply by ignoring every one of their attempts to contact you. Most importantly, do not interact with their emails and messages. Some of these criminals can be very tech-savvy.

Indeed, there has never been a time we should be very concerned about the security of our bank accounts as today. You may take the following precautionary measures.

1. Never disclose your mobile app activation code to anyone over the phone, via SMS, email, or in person.
2. Be warned!Never reveal your card number, OTP, Pin, or password to anyone over the phone, via SMS, email, or in person. Do not do this, even when the person requesting for such details claim to work in your bank’s headquarters!
3. Desist from clicking suspicious links or downloading attachments and apps from unknown sources!
4. Do not entertain unsolicited phone calls, SMS, or emails asking you personal details about yourself or asking for information about your bank accounts!
5. Again, do not fall for fraudsters’ phishing baits. They are smart and you should be ten times smarter than them!
6. Update your security software by installing the latest updates of your operating system and mobile banking app.
7. Avoid unsecured wifi! Do not perform sensitive financial transactions using public wifi or networks you do not know the source. Do not let your love for free things expose you to risks! Instead, use a secure connection whenever you perform online transactions.