Scammers are disguising as customer care representatives of various Nigerian banks on Twitter to defraud unsuspecting customers.
FIJ discovered that some Twitter handles impersonate the verified Twitter accounts of these financial institutions to lure Nigerians into their trap.
FROM TWITTER TO WHATSAPP
To ascertain their mode of operation, FIJ scrutinised the fraudulent Twitter handles of three Nigerian banks and found a pattern that is peculiar to all.
Whenever bank customers make complaints on Twitter and tag the verified handles of these banking institutions, the fraudsters respond with messages that direct the complainants to a WhatsApp number.
The fraudsters convey their responses in such a way that an impetuous customer would easily fall victim to their deception. However, a closer check at the graphological features of their responses would raise suspicion.
Also, some of the fake handles have between zero to over 1,000 followers, and they do not have the blue tick that signifies a verified Twitter account.
To evade a thorough examination from customers, the profile and header images of these fake Twitter pages have the banks’ logos.
An earlier story published by FIJ revealed how a fake customer care agent of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) defrauded a customer of N169,000.
The affected UBA customer had provided his personal banking information through a link the fraudster sent to him on WhatsApp.
MORE THAN 100 FAKE UBA PAGES
FIJ found at least 100 fake Twitter pages posing as customer agents of the United Bank for Africa (UBA).
In response to a customer’s complaint, a fake UBA agent with Twitter handle @UBANGroupp wrote, “We apologize for the delayed response. Kindly forward your complaint to our WhatsApp department for quick resolution via (091242688888). Thank you. https://wa.me/2349124268888.”
When the number was contacted on WhatsApp, FIJ got an automated response from the impostor. After lodging a complaint about a purported dispense error, the impostor sent a link containing an e-form to this reporter and added that “reversal would be made immediately.”
In the online form, the reporter was asked to fill in personal information such as the affected account number, card pin, and the last four digits on her debit card.
Fraudsters use such details to clear the bank accounts of customers who eventually share such private information.
GTBANK
Although not as much as the pages impersonating UBA, there are some fake pages that are also parading themselves as customer agents of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).
FIJ reached out to one of the impersonators via the WhatsApp line available on Twitter, but the message had not been responded to at press time.
FIRST BANK
Like GTB, only a handful of fake customer Twitter handles were found posing as agents of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN).
Also, the message FIJ sent to one of the impersonators on WhatsApp had not got a response at press time.
In a Twitter post on June 22, UBA alerted its customers to the daily operations of scammers targeted at retrieving customers’ personal information.
The bank urged the customers to keep their personal information and financial details private whether online or offline.
“Every day, scammers send out fraudulent social media posts, emails, texts and phone calls to try to get your personal information. DO NOT fall for it. Helpful tip: You may be asked to verify confidential information ONLY if you call the Bank, but rarely the other way around.
“Look out for the VERIFIED TICK on all our social media pages & do not engage fake pages posing as Leo, United Bank for Africa or reps of UBA.”
GTB customers on Twitter were sensitised in a post dated July 3, 2021, on how to confirm within five seconds if the account they were interacting with was posing as GTBank or its affiliate.
READ ALSO: ALERT: Fake Customer Care Twitter Handle Is Asking for GTBank Customers’ Details
Similarly, in a Twitter post on November 28, First Bank noted that it would never ask for customers’ PINs, passwords, OTPs and other personal banking details, and neither would customers be redirected to a WhatsApp or Telegram platform to treat their complaints.
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