How to Report a Scammer Bank Account in Nigeria

last Updated on October 30, 2023

Have you ever been defrauded by a scammer before? it isn’t a pleasant thing. Scamming is no longer a new thing in Nigeria, it is widespread and an epidemic. That’s why we’ve made this guide on how to report a scammer bank account in Nigeria.

There are a couple of ways on how to report a scammer bank account in Nigeria and we’ll try to go into them in detail in this post.

How to Report a Scammer Bank Account in Nigeria?

To report a scammer bank account in Nigeria, you can contact the CBN or the bank where the bank account is lodged with, the EFCC (Economic Financial Crime Commission) and the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission).

Here is how to report a scammer bank account in Nigeria:

Whistle Blowing: This is the process of privately disclosing an action that involves scamming, deception, and any illicit activity. The reason for the creation of any whistle-blowing policy is to make sure there’s a sound corporate governance environment inside any organization. Whistleblowing promotes ethics, professional conduct and corporate governance. The Whistle Blowing policy provides a channel to report any supposed unscrupulous direct (counting extortion) and activities of suspected bank account users. In cases where whistleblowing is required, all you have to do is to use the Toll-Free Phone lines and email address contact of the banks to whistleblow.

Also See: Best Bank Loans in Nigeria Without Collateral

How to Report a Scammer Bank Account in Nigeria by Contacting a Bank

To a great extent, you will need an assistant from a bank in order to report and solve scamming cases. The following is the rundown of bank contacts that might be helpful:

• Access Bank Plc – 0700CallAccess (07002255222377); contactcenter@accessbankplc.com
• Ecobank Nigerian Plc – +2348003262265; engcontactCentre@ecobank.com
• First Bank of Nigeria Ltd – firstcontact@firstbanknigeria.com; +234 700 FIRSTCONTACT (+234 700 34778 2668228)
• First City Monument Bank Ltd – +2347003262692265 (0700FCMBMYBANK)
• GTBank Nigerian Plc – +234 700 48266 6328; complaint@gtbank.com
• United Bank For Africa (UBA) – CFC@ubagroup.com; +234 700 2255 822
• Union Bank – 1-800-238 4486; https://www.unionbank.com/global/contactus/sendusfeedback/index.jsp
• Fidelity Bank Plc – 0800FIDELITY (080034335489); true.serve@fidelitybank.ng
• Skye Bank Nigeria – yescenter@skyebankng.com
• Wema Bank Nigeria – +234-1-4613146-7; 07000PURPLE (07000787753); purpleconnect@wemabank.com
• Stanbic IBTC Bank – 0700 CALL STANBIC (0700 2255 782); customercarenigeria@stanbicibtc.com; +234 1 4227777;  fraud@stanbicibtc.com
• Sterling Bank Plc – customercare@sterlingbankng.com; 01-4484481-5, 014489470-94
• Zenith Bank Plc – zenithdirect@zenithbank.com; 0700ZENITHBANK

Read: Best Domiciliary Account in Nigeria

How to Recover Your Money After Being Scammed

To recover your money after being scammed, copy out the account details of the receiver account (scammer account); the full name and account number and the account name details of the scammer.

If you sent the money via your bank mobile app or via USSD, you can go to your bank app transaction history and copy out the “Transaction ID Number” of that transaction and also go to your SMS app and copy out the “Transaction ID Number” as well.

Another thing you can do is send an email containing the scammer’s bank account, and proof of the transaction to your bank’s fraud team (all banks have a team in charge of online fraud) while you also forward a copy of the mail to the CBN FRAUD DESK. This will let the bank know to place the scammer’s bank account on hold.

Whoever owns the scammer’s bank account will not be able to carry out any transaction until they visit the bank. 

You can visit one of your bank’s branches or that of the scammer and make a complaint to customer service to file a complaint of fraud. They will direct you on the steps to take to recover your money.

You can also make a report to the police and speak to a lawyer to file an expert court order. With a court order, the bank will release the information of the owner of the scammer’s bank account to the police to help track them and recover your money.

Checkout: List of Fake Loan Apps in Nigeria

How to Avoid Being Scammed of Your Money in Nigeria

Here are steps you can take to help you to protect yourself from online scams:

• Make sure you check for reviews on the vendor page before shopping
• If you can don’t transact with vendors that have a no-refund policy.
• Be careful when it comes to online giveaways as well, some will ask you to send money before getting the giveaway item that you won.

Online platforms such as social media sites are a major target for scammers. So make sure to take precautionary steps before shopping online to avoid being scammed.

How Online Scammers Get Your Information

Online scammers have different ways of defrauding people. Some of these ways include:

• Online Shopping Scams
• Data breaches (private, sensitive information, such as personal information or financial data, is accessed or leaked by an unauthorized party)
• Credit card fraud
• Phishing (Spoofing); here the scammer uses fake emails or bogus websites to trick people into giving up their personal or financial information.
• Change your email password as frequently as you can. Try not to use a similar password for your email as you are doing on other accounts. Secure passwords should have capital letters, numbers, and special characters.
• Only trust encrypted websites that start with “HTTPS” rather than “HTTP.” Also, note that your browser should display a lock icon to indicate that the website is encrypted.
• Don’t email your signatures or account numbers. Don’t also send full account numbers, passwords, wiring instructions, or other personal information via email.
• Turn on two-factor authentication. This is a security feature that needs two types of authentication, like your password and a special code (OTP) texted to your phone. Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of protection just in case your password is stolen.
• Verbally confirm any transfer. Don’t transfer money to strangers without confirming that they’re legitimate.

It’s important that you report scams you encounter to your bank immediately or the EFCC.

You should also try to incorporate the details of the scam when making your report. For instance, email or screen capture the transaction details of the scam. This will help in processing the request.