Facts have emerged from a curious incidence that happened to me recently to point to the fact that First Bank which used to be the darling of many has been infiltrated by fraud sters and conmen. Beyond that is the fact that has also emerged that First Bank operates by completely isolating its customers.
Recalled that a couple of weeks ago, I narrated, on this platform, how fraud ster, in what looked like movie, removed a huge sum of money from my First Bank account, leaving a balance of laughable N3,000.
It all happened on June 13 when the fraud ster cloned my Android phone by suddenly shutting me from an access to its screen and removing my money.
More than ten days after the report was made to a branch of the Bank in Kuje during which time the account details of the culprit was established, the Bank quickly washed its hand off the matter and asked me to go after the culprit myself. The First Bank reluctantly gave the details of the culprit as follows:
Account name: Ishaq Ibrahim (instead of my name, Yusuf Ozi-Usman)
Account number (to which the huge sum was transferred as 0088243601 and the Bank (to which it was transferred) as PAGA.
It is also on record that First Bank said in its message to me that it was “not liable” for the unauthorized transfer of my money in its custody by the fraud ster.
Though I have actually taken it upon myself to pursue the case to its end in many ways possible, the exclusive investigations I have carried out revealed something very sinister about the First Bank itself.
Here are my findings:
1. My statement of account which the First Bank “reluctantly” released to me through my email address shows that the huge sum was actually transferred on June 12. The First Bank did not send me alert until 1.30pm on June 13, in what was crisis milieu on my phone screen. As a matter of fact, in all my transactions before then, it’s my name that appeared but only the one of June 12/13 bore Ishaq Ibrahim.
2. The confidence with which First Bank washed its hand off the fraud by saying that it was “not liable…” is suspicious.
3. First Bank’s abrupt closure of the investigation of the case and turning its back on me showed a sense of irresponsible business deal
4. First Bank’s initial refusal to give the full details of the person who made the unauthorized transfer of my money to me raised questions about business integrity
5. First Bank’s temerity in asking me to lodge my complaint with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which of course, I did on June 16, though response is yet to come from the apex Bank, is frightful.
6. There’s a curious fact that the fraud ster targeted my account only in the First Bank. After cloning my phone, the fraud ster was expected to have access to my accounts in other Banks, but he didn’t touch my money in those other Banks. When I flashed my phone and returned it to factory setting, none of my other information (Facebook, email address, other Banks’ Apps WhatsApp etc) was touched. Only my First Bank’s account was ravaged. Why First Bank?
As a matter of fact, what the First Bank has simply implied is that customers’ money cannot be safe in its custody. If the Bank does not have modern facilities to safeguard people’s funds in its custody, especially in the world that is fast growing in technology, why would it saddles itself with keeping the people’s funds? What type of feeling is the handlers of the Bank’s operations have when, in this type of my case, customers are duped, even if it is “suspected” to be the fault of the customers?
In deed, some Banks, including the First Bank, are now giving customers a rethink about the system, especially the online version of the banking sector. I have actually come across some people who have since di-activated their online system, even including the ATM version.
As a matter of fact, many banks in Nigeria are fast loosing customers because of the growing number of cases of unauthorized transfers from customers’ bank accounts.
In fact, serious concern is being raised in many quarters about the resilience of Nigeria’s banking systems, against the background of the increasing sophisticated cybercriminals that seem to be operating freely and confidently.
One acknowledges that digital banking has transformed financial services, but it has also created new opportunities for hackers to exploit security weaknesses where technology and cybersecurity measures are not continually updated.
Banks therefore, have a duty to ensure that their systems meet modern security standards. Customers who entrust financial institutions with their hard-earned savings is purely on the understanding that their funds are protected by robust technology and effective risk management.
Any failure to keep pace with evolving cyber threats, irrespective of the circumstances and without any form of excuse, risk exposing customers to financial losses, emotional distress and a gradual erosion of public confidence in the banking industry.
Regulators, especially the CBN, need to intensify oversight by ensuring that banks regularly upgrade their digital infrastructure, conduct independent cybersecurity audits and deploy advanced fraud detection systems capable of identifying and blocking suspicious transactions in real time. Likewise, banks should strengthen customer authentication, improve incident response and provide prompt redress where security failures are established.
As cybercrime continues to evolve, investing in modern banking technology is no longer optional; it is essential. Protecting customers’ money and preserving confidence in Nigeria’s financial system require continuous investment, vigilance and accountability from both financial institutions and regulators.
Or, else our Banks would be inadvertently returning Nigerians back to the medieval era; the era where money and other valuables were being kept under the pillows, in locally designed boxes and other devices.
