A lot of Nigerians encounter scammers daily. Unfortunately, some of them fall victim to these criminals. Most of the time, they are tricked into paying or transferring money into the scammer bank account. This implies that they know the account details of the scammer.
All bank accounts in Nigeria are registered by individuals. Also, a lot of identification documentation is required when opening an account. Hence, from an account number, a bank can trace who owns an account. However, due to customer confidentiality, it’s not easy for anyone to just request for the bank account of someone else.
If you follow due process, you should be able to trace a scammer whose account you paid money to. To help you, here’s how to report a scammer bank account in Nigeria.
Reporting a Scammer Bank Account
To begin with, the CBN has an advanced fee fraud disclaimer (419). This disclaimer states frequent scam scenarios so Nigerians can avoid them. If they still fall victim, they can contact the CBN helpdesk for assistance but the CBN isn’t obliged to answer.
Now, it mustn’t be after falling victim to a scam that you can report. You can report the scammer once they send their account details if you’re able to detect that it’s a scam. Nevertheless, whichever way it is – before or after – here are the appropriate authorities you can report to;
1. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (E.F.C.C.)
Just as the description states, the EFCC handles financial crimes. You can report a scammer’s bank account using details on their official website – www.efccnigeria.org. On the website, you find EFCC contact details including phone numbers you can call and emails you can write to.
Furthermore, you can visit any EFCC office closer to you and report the scammer in person. You can easily find an EFCC office close to you by using Google Map.
When reporting a scam to EFCC, ensure you have all the necessary details to proved that you’ve been scammed. This includes bank receipt of the teller of the payment you made and possibly your chat or conversation with the scammer to reveal what you are supposed to pay for.
2. The Nigerian Police Force (NPF)
The Nigerian police are tasked with apprehending criminals and a scammer is a criminal. Hence, you can report a scammer to the Nigerian police. Generally, you can visit any police station nearest to you or contact the force with details from their official website – www.nigeriapolice.org.
The Nigerian Police Force has a special fraud unit. This unit is part of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) – a department that handles the highest investigations in the Nigerian Police Force. The Special Fraud Unit is tasked with investigating and prosecuting serious and complex financial fraud cases. They operate not just in Nigeria alone but also overseas.
If you’re reporting a scam involving a huge amount of money, the Police Special Fraud Unit is ideal. However, note that such investigations might take a long to be completed. Normally, a PSFU investigation will take 3 to 6 months to be completed.
You can contact the special unit by visiting any of their locations close to you. On their official website – www.specialfraudunit.org.ng – you can report a scammer bank account using the contact form or any of the phone numbers and emails.
Anyone can lay a fraud complaint to the Nigerian Police Force, it doesn’t have to be the victim. Furthermore, complaints can be initially made without any supporting documents.
Can You Report To The CBN?
A lot of persons make the mistake of reporting financial crimes to the CBN. The Central Bank Of Nigeria is a financial regulatory institution and is not tasked with prosecuting financial scammers. As mentioned earlier, you can send emails to CBN about a fraud case but, they are not obliged to respond.
Can You Report To Your Bank?
Most of the time, people are scammed by individuals who pose as workers or associates of the victim’s bank. Banks are financial institutions and don’t have the authority to go after scammers.
If you’re scammed and you report to your bank, the most they can do is to manage the case on your behalf. They’ll help you file a fraud case to the relevant authorities and follow it up while giving you updates.
How To Stay Safe From Scammers
If you know how to stay safe from scammers, you won’t lose your money. This is important because the process of reporting a scammer in Nigeria isn’t very lenient. In several cases, getting your money back may be impossible or, you could spend more than the amount you lost.
So, how do you stay safe from scammers? Here are some tips;
- Don’t share your bank details with people online. Scammers would mostly pretend to be bank staff and request for details like your ATM card details, BVN, internet banking details, and more. If you’re in doubt, always contact your bank to verify.
- If you’re doing any online transaction with an individual that involves a very huge amount of money, endeavor to meet them in person. Don’t blindly trust people online unless they are very renowned.
- Avoid Ponzi Schemes. A lot of Nigerians have fallen victims to Ponzi schemes and lost huge sums of money. All Ponzi schemes are scams as they simply collect from one person to pay the other. Once there are no more new players in the game, it collapses.
- Verify information. If someone is giving you investment advice whether offline or in person, try to verify from other sources to be sure it is legit.
Bottom Line
Losing money to scammers isn’t a friendly experience. This is why as a Nigerian, you should always be vigilant when making financial transactions with people online that you don’t know. It’s easier to stay safe from scams than reporting and getting your money back in Nigeria.
If unfortunately, you’ve fallen victim to a scam, I believe this article on how to report a scammer bank account in Nigeria will go a long way in helping you.