Forged /spurious bank drafts and checks: How Nigerian
banks aid scammers
WHEN A CHECK/DRAFT IS PAID INTO YOUR ACCOUNT
They say it’s a rule from CBN. When a check/draft is
paid into your account, especially from someone using another bank, you will
receive a credit alert.
The credit alert will be there as an SMS alert, email
alert and if you even login to your Internet banking area, you see it there.
The name of the sender is not included.
THE STATUS OF YOUR CREDIT
The reality is that, the credit will never be added
to your available balance. The book balance would be different from the
available balance and you won’t be able to use it until after 48 hours. This
would give your bank the time to confirm the cheek/draft. If it is genuine, the
money would be added to your available balance. If it’s fake, the money would
be removed from your account.
Sadly, most members of the public are not aware of
this fact. Once many people see credit alerts from their banks, they believe
it’s real money and they fall into traps. And scammers know that most people
don’t know.
HOW BANKS AID AND ABET SCAMMERS
Some banks will send credits alert to you, as soon as
a check is deposited into your account. This is wrong, and it’s the loophole
that the scammers capitalize on. Why should banks send credits alerts for
checks that have not been cleared (checks that have not been confirmed)?
It currently takes up to 48 hours to confirm a check
or draft and banks should not send alerts to their customers until that is
done. So, if the checks are later proven to be forged/spurious, the money would
then be removed from your account. Many customers are not aware of this.
Sane employees of sane banks, know that it saves a
lot of things, when a check/bank draft is confirmed before alerting customers.
If the one who pays, or the payee is really in a hurry, then they should look
for other ways to transfer money. Yes, there are other and better ways to
transfer money… And insisting on draft/check should raise suspicion.
A bank that alerts customers without confirming a
check is really adding and abetting scammers.
SCAMMERS ARE DIFFICULT TO CATCH
Yes, scammers are difficult to catch. Be suspicious
of anyone who changes their numbers too often. Once they dupe someone and the
person is threatening them, they remove the SIM and that person can never reach
them again.
A scammer can pay one-year house rent and spend only
a few months - only to change
accommodations. Changing offices is not a big deal to them. They try their best
to erase all traces to them and they do their best not to come in your way
again, forever.
They’re good at forging documents and using fake
addresses and fake things. Until you’re convinced that you’ve been duped,
they’ll be giving you guarantee that all is well, and no problem and anything
going wrong would be corrected.
Meanwhile, while they’re fooling you that there’s no problem,
they’re packing away from their locations.
I can tell you that some (and most of these scammers)
are married with children. Some of them are elderly people. Some of them are
really gentlemen in society and they still dupe people.
They know about the loopholes in Nigerian laws and
they know that if you can even catch one of them, you can never catch the rest
of them.
WHAT NIGERIAN BANKS AND CBN CAN DO
CBN should instruct Nigerian banks that they should
stop giving alerts to customers until the bank drafts and checks paid into
their accounts, are confirmed to be valid. If a customer or those who may think
they’re in a hurry, then they should use an electronic method or direct cash
deposit to pay.
Yes, if they think they cannot wait for 48 hours or
you can’t wait for 48 hours, for the bank draft to be cleared, then they should
use another means of payment.
In this digital/electronics payment age, when banking
technology has advanced so much, how can someone insist on using a bank draft
or check to pay people?
Bank officials that don’t alert customers or put
“locked” credits in their accounts until the checks have been cleared, are
saving lots of lives. Bank officials that send credits alerts, when
checks/drafts have not been cleared, are really not doing the right thing.
When banks start to refuse to credit or alert any
customers (based on drafts or checks brought in their names), until the checks
and the drafts are cleared and confirmed to be genuine, then scammers who forge
checks and drafts will go out of the business. That’s the only way.
WHAT SCAMMERS DO AND HOW THEY BEHAVE
When people want to scam you, they usually pose as
honest, dependable and trustworthy people. They do everything in their capacity
to prove to you that you’re safe when doing business with them.
They’ll always tell you that they’ve been duped in
the past, and they don’t want to be duped again. They’ll be asking you to
confirm that you’re honest and safe to do things with.
They pretend to be very religious.
They pose like lawyers, accountants, bishops, imams,
etc. They claim to be holding very high positions in society. They claim to
have international experience and connections. They “prove” to be close friends
with those who’re working at Chevron, Head of Bureau the Change or a senior
nurse at LUTH. etc.
They put on corporate dresses and use cars to deceive
people.
They pretend to be who they’re not. They assume
titles of the positions you respect. They spend a lot of energy, days and
resources (which could have been channeled into other productive things) trying
to dupe you.
The best way they get you is through someone you know
very well. They may be a family member, a church member, a neighbor, a friend,
a customer, etc. Someone you think you can trust. They will come to you through
that person, as the one who introduces them to you. You won’t know that the
person has a money sharing deal with the scammers.
The premise is: The person you know, who introduces
others to you, usually for business or contracts or projects, is presumed by
you, as someone who will not deliberately betray you, because you’ve been
dealing together for some time.
Some of them may call you through the phone number of
the person you know, who introduces you to them.
Sometimes, they insist on using drafts or checks
only, to pay you, for a flimsy reason. No matter how, they won’t give up on you
until they succeed in duping you.
You won’t know what people are capable of doing,
until you find yourself at their mercy.
The best thing is not to fall into their traps in the
first place.
HOW THE PUBLIC CAN PREVENT THIS SCAM
One of the most effective ways to stop these
scoundrels from their usual business and from destroying people’s life, is to
create awareness and educate the public on how to guard themselves against
these people.
1. No
matter what they say… No matter what they claim to be… No matter where they
come from… No matter how they try to convince you… NEVER NEVER accept bank
draft or check payment from anybody or any company or organization. Never allow
such a thing to be used to pay money into your account.
2. If
no-one can do business with you unless they use a check or a bank draft, please
forget about that business, no matter how “safe,” attractive or lucrative it
may be.
3. If
they cannot pay by cash or electronic money transfer, then they should forget
about doing business with you. Or they can use the draft to pay one of their
own people, and then the person can pay you with cash or electronic transfer.
4. Prevention
is better than cure. It’s better to be safe than to be sorry. It’s better not
to make money or not to do business, than to do what you will regret for the
rest of your life.
5. If
you must accept a bank draft or a check, please disregard any alerts that come
to you in any form. Wait for at least, 72 business hours, and then, contact
your account officer to confirm if the money from that check has been cleared
and added to your available balance. You must ensure that you are able to use
that money before you deliver anything to those who used the checks/drafts to
pay.
Beware of anyone making it seem to be in a hurry to
do business with you. If they’re really in a hurry, then they must use another
means other than a bank draft or check to pay you. Never release anything or
send anything until you’re able to confirm that you’re completely safe.
Please save people from penury and financial ruin.
Save them from pains and losses. Share this information on websites, social
media, WhatsApp, Skype, Telegram and Facebook groups.
Forward it to your exchangers and their customers and
all those who deal in goods and services in return for payment. You don’t know
whether the next person you’ll save is your loved one. Save someone today with
this information.
Thanks for reading….
