Have you ever heard of fake alert? It is real and people have been scammed of their hard earned money.
People are often most vulnerable to fake alert scams when there is lack of cash as a result of a fiscal policy.
The kind of situation Nigeria is in at the moment is one that could end in loss of cash or goods to fraudulent people.
Mrs. Ugochi, a businesswoman in Balogun Market, Lagos, is a victim of fake alert.
She lost a million naira to scammers.
A day she thought would end in so much joy, as the customer picked quite a number of goods, became a sad one.
The customer walked into her shop on Monday morning to purchase some sample laces for purported occasion.
“He came to my shop and said he wanted to buy lace for an occasion.
“I showed him some of my sample laces, and he selected some. The total amount purchased was ₦1 million.
“He told me he would make a transfer, and I gave him my account number.
“A few minutes later, he showed me a debit alert from his phone, and of course I saw a credit alert supposedly from my bank.”
Also Read: Tinubu Donates ₦100m To Victims Of Katsina Terror Attack Amidst Naira Scarcity
When asked how she discovered it was a fake alert, she replied that she could have checked her bank app instead of packing her goods immediately after seeing the alert.
Later, when she checked her bank app, she discovered her account was not credited.
How The Scam Works
A series of events often preceed this kind of scam. It could even start days before the D-Day so that the individual will not suspect a scam.
In disguise, someone could come and ask for your number, claiming he or she would place order later in the day or in the week.
The individual will find a way to get the account details of the seller to know the bank name to send the fake alert with.
Few days later, another member of the team would show up, this time to scam the seller.
The individual will pay for SMS access and add the name of the bank that the individual uses the same way it appears when the bank sends an SMS.
That way, when the fake alert comes in, the seller would think that the SMS was from her bank.
Once proper attention is not given to the SMS, the seller could give out the goods.
Due to the cashless policy, a lot of small business owners and individuals could fall into this trap.
But if you know the right thing to do, you will know it is a fake alert.
How To Identify A Fake Alert
Frist, when the fake alert comes, it stands alone, even though it comes like it is from your bank.
If you do not delete old SMS from your bank, you will notice that that particular one does not have old text messages above it.
Secondly, it is time to get your bank’s app and verify every transaction in your app before you give out your goods.
These few information would help you survive this cashless season and beyond.
