NEW ATM SCAM. PLEASE READ. IT SHOULDN’T HAPPEN TO YOU!
Naomi’s story
Naomi works in the head office of a bank in Lagos. On Saturday 10th January, while at home, Naomi found herself in desperate need of money to fuel the generator and sent her brother-in-law to the ATM to withdraw money using her ATM card. The brother-in-law, an undergraduate, had done this for her in the past.
He returned with the money and ATM card and she put both in her wallet in her bag. She returned to work on Monday and got a call from one of the bank branches asking her if she had misplaced her ATM card. She responded that she had her ATM card in her bag, but was told to look at the ATM card. She discovered that she did have an ATM card, but it bore another person’s name. She promptly checked her account and found that it had been cleaned out.
Her brother-in-law’s story
He got to the ATM and met a “distressed” lady who claimed that she didn’t know how to use the ATM. She asked him to show her and he gullibly agreed using Naomi’s card to demonstrate the use of ATM card. He thought nothing of it and in fact must have felt gallant and important! He came back home with ATM card and money.
The Scam
After the demonstration and while the ATM card was ejecting from the machine, “Lady-in-distress” (LID for short) swapped Naomi’s card with the card she was holding. LID then proceeded to other ATMs and withdrew N250,000 from Naomi’s account that Saturday. On Sunday, she logged on to the internet and bought laptops, airtime e.tc. LID relieved Naomi of her entire Housing allowance and December salary.
How the story came to Naomi’s attention
Mr. Kofoworola stopped at the ATM on Monday 12th January to withdraw N5,000 to fuel his car on his way to work in the morning. When he got to the machine, he inserted his card and typed his PIN. INVALID PIN! After three attempts, the ATM machine siezed the card. Mr. Kofoworola marched into the bank and read the Manager the riot act. The bank officials retrieved the card and checked the system to ensure the right card was being returned to the customer as the card was not personalised. It was discovered that card was issued to a lady, Naomi! The bank staff making the confirmation informed Mr. Kofoworola and then notified Naomi (who is a staff of the same bank).
Mr. Kofoworola’s story
On Sunday 11th January, he met a “distressed” lady at the ATM. She claimed that her transaction wasn’t going through and the message was INSTITUTION NOT AVAILABLE. She asked for Mr. Kofoworola’s help and he gallantly stepped up to the plate! He left the ATM non the wiser that his card had been switched. LID cleaned Mr. Kofoworola’s account and generously left him with N600.
The card Naomi got after the switch belonged to a lady, Iquo Mami. Iquo was invited by the bank and questioned. She claimed she mispaced her card, and notified the bank’s card helpline. The bank checked the CCTV footage (yes, some banks in Nigeria put CCTV cameras on the ATMs!) on the ATMs from which withdrawals were made. It wasn’t Iquo who made the withdrawals. She still remains a suspect as the bank is going through their records for her notification of card loss (yes, telephone conversations are recorded for playback!). Naomi’s brother-in-law identified LID from ATM pictures as the lady he assisted. Mr. Kofoworola also identified LID. This fraud is still being investigated. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE.
Learning points
- Do not entrust your ATM card or PIN to anyone. They may be trustworthy but may not be as careful as you would be. Naomi entrusted her ATM card and PIN number to another person.
- At the ATM,
* Look over the ATM to ensure there is no suspect attachment that can steal you ID/Card.
* Shield the number pad so no one hanging around can see your PIN.
* Ignore and treat everyone you meet as a suspect. You are not a teacher. All those who lack knowledge should notify their bank.
* Ensure you remove your receipt and that the card that you take away from the machine is yours
* Request to print balance before a transaction and balance after. As a rule, avoid ATMs that say “Printer Error”
