Published 11th Jan, 2023

By Tola Owoyele

Wuraola Olawoye, an Edo State-based civil servant, has detailed how N83,000 was debited from her First Bank account without her consent.

Olawoye told FIJ that she received a debit alert of the deduction while she was still at her workplace on January 6.

“I was in the office working on Friday, January 6, when I received the strange debit alert on my account,” said Olawoye.

The Debit Alert on the First Bank Account — The Debit Alert

“I have never exposed my debit card details before. I don’t even make web transactions or online payments because of issues like this.

“I only made a POS cash withdrawal with the card on the morning of that same day.”

Olawoye said she called the bank’s customer care unit after receiving the debit and her card was immediately blocked.

“After my debit card was blocked, they told me to wait for 24 hours so that they could give me feedback on how the money disappeared from my account,” Olawoye said.

“When I did not get the feedback as promised, I called the customer care line the second time on the following day, and this time, it was another official that spoke with me.

“It was at the point of speaking with the second official that I was told that the transaction could not be traced.

“When I later visited one of the bank’s branches in Benin, I was told that the perpetrators of the fraud had carried out an online payment using my account.

“Just like the feedback I got from their customer care desk, the official said the transaction could not be traced. He added that if the fraud had been perpetrated via a POS terminal or online transfer, it would have been traceable.

“I have not exposed my card or bank details in any way. I have always been mindful of things like this also. I want my N83,000 back.”

FIJ sent a mail to First Bank for comments on the matter on Tuesday, but it had not been responded to at press time.

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