Published 21st Jan, 2023

By Opeyemi Lawal

Rilwan Ishaq, a Katsina-based cafe operator, has recounted how a fraudster who introduced himself as an Opay customer care agent swindled him out of N42,000.

Ishaq told FIJ that an unknown number had called him on September 8, 2021, to inquire about a Point of Sales (PoS) machine he had requested from Opay.

He said he told the caller his plans were stalled because he could not afford the machine at that time, which made the caller offer to help.

“I had earlier applied for the Opay PoS machine but couldn’t afford it. When the number called and its display ID read ‘Opay customer care’, I didn’t suspect a thing,” Ishaq told FIJ.

“I spoke with the person and he asked about the PoS machine I had applied for. I repeated my challenge to him and he convinced me that all I needed was for the money, which would not be deducted, to reflect on my Opay wallet.

Receipts of the transaction done by the fraudster

“He added that I would receive some codes, which I should forward to him. I believed him because I thought he was an agent.”

Ishaq said as a cafe operator in a student environment, he had just finished registering some students, and because he thought the agent’s request was urgent, he decided to use some of their money.

“I transferred N42,000 into the wallet thinking the transaction was urgent. Surprisingly, a few minutes later, I noticed N41,900 had been transferred from my wallet to another line as airtime, and another N200 to a different number.”

The Kastina resident said a Truecaller check on the number revealed the caller as ‘Akeem Afeez’.

He also said when he contacted OPay, an agent asked him to send an email to the platform’s anti-fraud unit.

“One of the agents, called Stephanie, asked me to send a mail to the Opay anti-fraud unit, which I did. I kept disturbing them but nothing came out of it,” he said.

“I had to repay the money I used to fund the wallet to buy myself some peace.”

“Opay can’t be indifferent to fraudulent acts carried out with their name.”

FIJ called Opay’s customer care on Friday, but the line was busy. Messages sent on the same day had not been responded to at press time.

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