Why Bank Customers Should Sign Their ATM Cards- Banker

Obinna Ugwu, a banker with one of the frontline banks in the country, has advised bank customers to sign their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card to prevent fraudsters from having access to their accounts.

Ugwu, who spoke in an exclusive chat with THE WHISTLER, said fraudsters are constantly devising ways to dupe people and warned bank customers to protect their bank deposits.

He explained that the easiest way for fraudsters to get access to one’s account is through the ATM.

“You see that ATM card, as easy as it is, that is how hard it can be. If you are not careful, that is how they will just claim your money with it.

“The series of issues we have lately here in my bank is that most fraudsters go about with ATM cards that do not have names written on them and go to ATM stands and try to swap with victims,” he revealed.

He said fraudsters are always at the ATM stand ready to “assist” those who are facing challenges with transactions.

“From helping they will just swap the cards. They will remove your card, put another one pretending to be trying it severally, until you feel like it’s not paying, not knowing that they are using a different
card with another pin on it.

“Some of those cards they use are blocked cards, and when you begin to complain that your card is not working, they will even be the ones to advise you to go to your bank and lay a complaint, or go to another ATM so that they can easily get rid of you to enable them withdraw fast.

“So, it is in the process of them helping you that you are unconsciously showing them your pin, because they will ask you to put in your pin not knowing that they are observing you keenly,” he explained.

According to the banker, it is because of this reason that bankers always advise customers to have their names or signatures written on their ATM cards.

“This will enable customers to know anytime their cards are swapped, because when swapping the cards, fraudsters swap the ones that have the same colour with the victim’s card and no name on it,” he said,
adding that the only way a customer whose name is not written on their cards will know when there’s a swap is through the last 4 0r 7 digits at the back of the ATM cards.

Ugwu said: “If you are unable to know that your card is swapped, they get away with it, at the end of the day, when you go to another ATM and try transacting, you’ll realise that it doesn’t go until you begin
to receive debit alerts. That’s when it dawns on you that your card has been swapped.”

The banker also explained that some customers can also walk into the bank carrying clearing cheques, and if they are able to get the signature of the account holder whose cheque they are carrying, they
will sign the cheque, go to the bank and drop it.

He said further, “Like the one I experienced recently. I don’t know how the guy got the cheque, came in, deposited it and left. As you know the process when you come with a cheque, you drop the deposit
slip, write your account number, BVN, attach a valid identity card, then drop the cheque and go.

“On our part we will call the owner of the account saying a certain cheque has been deposited in our bank, are you the one paying this person into this account?

“Also, if the BVN doesn’t match the one in the person’s account we’ll send an email to the owner of the account to block his/her account and we will also block the fraudster’s account.

“So, in the guy’s case, that was how we got to know that the owner of the cheque didn’t authorise it, and funny enough, the guy never came back. The worst part is that he didn’t even use his own account, he
used an account of someone who didn’t even know him.”

Ugwu revealed further that fraudsters also ask for the account of someone close to them saying they are expecting a certain amount of money, and will use such an account for transactions.

He however noted that banks try to mitigate such fraudulent transactions by monitoring transactions from the back end of the information technology (IT) unit of the banking offices.

“That’s where they notice these fraudulent transactions and even block the affected account,” he said.

He said in his bank(name withheld), once they block such accounts from the headquarters, the bank will immediately send a mail to the branch in case the customer comes into the branch complaining that their
account is blocked.

“They have to come and confirm that yes, they did such a transaction. If the customer says No, I didn’t do such a transaction, investigations will now commence including questions we may ask the
customer. So, the network in the bank will now start building its own security to tackle the case.

“What we normally do on our own part is that my bank has a policy that you can’t just harass a customer, rather in such issues, we send an email to the Head office then the legal unit will take it up.

“They will get a court order and send it to every bank that such person is banking with. They do this through the person’s BVN since it links up all the bank accounts he/she has. So, any bank that person
works into and tries to transact, the order sent there will notify the bank as to the reason why such an account is blocked. Such an order could be to arrest that person once he/she shows up. And a police
number will also be added to the order placed on the account.

“That’s why if you go to any bank, you’ll see that there’s police standing by the door, and so such police will just walk up casually and make the arrest, walking you out and straight to the police
station where you’ll be charged,” he explained further.