How to Detect a Fake Credit Alert in Nigeria

Nothing is worse for the typical Nigerian than going bankrupt to scam. When they lose money as a result of false bank alerts, it hurts differently. That indicates that someone took advantage of their intelligence and cheated them. This hurts. Thankfully, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind to prevent falling for phony bank warnings.

Currently, it is common knowledge that fraudsters utilize false bank notifications to commit their crimes. That’s why it’s important to get this information. You can prevent con artists using false credit alert scams to make you look foolish and steal money from you by using the advice provided below.

HOW TO KNOW FAKE CREDIT ALERTS IN NIGERIA

What are the warning signs to watch out for in order to prevent con artists using false credit alerts? You may wish to browse through this if you believe you don’t need it. Only victims can appreciate how crucial it is to be aware of the warning signs because they have experienced them themselves. Although anyone could become a victim, there are some warning signs you should be aware of in order to avoid becoming one.

CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT’S BALANCE

You can check your account balance via the mobile banking application, internet banking site, or USSD code provided by your bank. You can use this to determine whether a credit alert you received for a transaction is accurate. You could also contact your account manager and inquire about your current bank balance. Your account’s balance won’t ever be impacted by a fake credit alert. You must be aware of the precise sum of your last known available balance in order to establish whether or not a credit transaction into your account was successful.

CHECK THE INBOX IN YOUR EMAIL

Checking the email you used to sign up for bank email alerts is another approach to spot fraudulent credit alerts. If you requested email alerts from your bank, it is reasonable that you would surely receive alerts for each transaction. To be safe, make sure the email address used to deliver the credit alert to you is one that is associated with your bank. These con artists may attempt to deceive you occasionally by sending you an email with a comparable address to your bank. As a result, you can check the email address associated with your bank on the website of your bank.

CHECK YOUR AVAILABLE BALANCE IN THE CREDIT ALERT

You should carefully check the notification’s available balance section. You can use this to determine whether the bank credit alert you received is accurate. The balance of your bank account would normally be included in a genuine credit alert. Let’s use the following instance to help explain. If you had ₦50,000 in your bank account and ₦30,000 was added, then. Your remaining balance, minus transaction fees, should be ₦80,000 on the credit notification for the transaction. Consequently, based on the provided example, if the credit notification you receive is in any manner below ₦80,000, it is fraudulent.

WATCH OUT FOR CONTRADICTIONS IN THE CREDIT ALERT MESSAGE

Fake credit notifications make an effort to imitate legitimate ones, but a close inspection exposes key differences. Make sure the sender ID on the SMS matches the one on the actual credit alert from your bank first. If the sender ID varies from the one used by your bank, it ought to alert you that the communication is bogus. Check to see if the sender ID is in capital or lowercase letters. For instance, “UBA” would be a legal sender ID for a credit alert if you have an account with the United Bank for Africa. Therefore, if an SMS claims to be from “United Bank” or “uba,” it is a big clue that it is fraudulent and a scam.

You should also observe for obvious spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors. If the credit alert has incomplete sentences, typos, poor grammar, strange language usage, or difficult sentence patterns, it is a fake. Look for the differences between it and the actual one.

USE THE NEAREST ATM MACHINE

You can also check your account balance to make sure the credit was actually applied. You can accomplish this by using your debit card at an ATM nearby (ATM). If your available balance stays the same as it did when the credit notification was last displayed, it was a hoax.

GUIDELINES FOR AVOIDING FAKE CREDIT ALERT SCAMS

Here are some crucial tips to help you avoid falling for fraudulent bank credit warnings:

• Install Bank App: A critical step you should take to immediately verify the veracity of a credit alert is to download the mobile app for your bank on your phone. Nonetheless, you must apply in order to access the mobile banking service. If you want to confirm the credit alert at any moment, including late at night, you can do it using the mobile application.
• Provide Account Information With Care: You normally need to offer your account number in order to be paid for the goods or services you deliver. Anybody who requests your phone number or email address to complete a transaction should raise your suspicions.
• Visit Bank or Call Customer Care: You should know how to get in touch with persons who can help you in situations like the potential for a false credit alert. Additionally, be certain that you have access to the contact details for your account so you may request confirmation whenever necessary.
• Apply for Bank USSD: The USSD code provided by your bank can be used to check your account’s balance. The USSD service requires that you fill out a formal application at the bank. You can use this to check whether a transaction has been reflected in your bank account or not. If you haven’t already, kindly do so.

CONCLUSION

Fake credit alert is one of the most pervasive frauds in Nigeria. In this kind of fraud, you would get a credit alert for the payment of a service you provide or goods you sell, but the money would not actually show up in your bank account. You would later realize you were the victim of a false credit alert. We gave you advice in this article on how to verify a credit alert’s veracity so you won’t fall prey to this increasingly common threat.