20% of social media users and shoppers in Nigeria have been scammed at one point or the other, either large bucks or small money and It’s quite painful. Sometimes people fall victims of scam through absolutely no fault of theirs, they might be performing legitimate transactions online and still fall prey, others not so much.

Have you mistakenly or greedily sent 50k to get 100k in 5 minutes and then later realized that you have been scammed? And the scammer even went on to rub your ignorance on your face too? If you still fall for such cheap scam, maybe you need to take a break from the internet.

It is also possible for you to mistakenly send funds to a wrong account, tho rare, it is nevertheless possible. Sending funds to a wrong bank account is different from getting intentionally scammed, you can still get your money back if you fund the wrong account, it is tricky and more difficult but possible.

Getting scammed can leave you feeling ashamed and many people don’t always know what to do in such situations, so today am sharing with you things you do, when you realize a page you paid for a service or goods is ghosting you:

How to report an online scammer in Nigeria:

1. Screenshot all previous chats across all messaging app (Instagram and WhatsApp or Facebook).
2. Write out the Full name and account number of the page or person.
3. Go to the last notification SMS your bank sent you after you made the payment (via mobile app or text) copy out the “TRANSACTION ID NUMBER”.
4. Go to any branch of the scam artist’s bank (the bank the scammer uses), ask to see the CUSTOMER SERVICE in charge of FRAUD.
5. If you can, print out all those chats with the scammer, and submit it.
6. send an email to the SCAMMER’S BANK and copy CBN FRAUD DESK (anticorruptionunit@cbn.gov.ng) this will ginger the bank to take it up fast.

How Banks and the CBN protect the public from scammers

Getting reported to the CBN as a scammer can have devastating consequences for the fraudster given that their fingerprints and other biometric data will be easily reflagged across Nigeria’s financial infrastructure. Once you have good evidence and made a report against a scammer, here are the things that will happen to them:

• The scammer/suspect’s bank account will be PLACED ON HOLD (they won’t be able to withdraw any money from their account).
• Their BVN will be blocked permanently, preventing from opening any account in Nigeria and severely affecting their ability to make any financial transactions in the country.
• No account will ever be opened neither will they be able to transact banking business in that name until they clear themself with the bank.
• Meaning he/she cannot transfer or withdraw until they visit the bank, and when they do, the bank will contact the police and the suspect when proven guilty will sign a waiver allowing the bank to refund your money.

In conclusion, getting scammed by a fraudster is not final and you should not be ashamed. There are steps you can always take to get your money back or at the very least prevent the fraudster from scamming other innocent victims.

The post HOW TO RETRIEVE YOUR MONEY AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED IN NIGERIA appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

The way these criminals operate is they will send you a friend request on Facebook, usually with a clone account of unsuspecting foreigners, complete with their victims profile and family pictures to make them look legit.

Once you accept the friend request, they will send you a private message asking you random questions like, how is the pandemic in your area? Or what do you do for a living?

After establishing some level of rapport with you, these criminals will then ask you to have a video chat with them on iChat, knowing fully well that most Nigerians don’t own Apple gadgets.

Once you tell them you don’t have an Apple product, they will offer to send you one, they will ask you for basic information like your full name, home address and phone number.

In my case the scammer already have pictures of MacBooks, they probably just downloaded from the internet to convince you that they are actually shopping in an Apple store, some will even try to convince you with a receipt, all to make it look like they are in a store about to send you a free gadget.

After convincing you that they’ve bought your, the next step in the scam is they will tell you they are on their way to the airport to send you the items. For some reason these scammers are all relying on British airways using the same format.

They will then send you a fake waybill from British airways with your name and phone number superimposed on it. There’s also a phony tracking number on the waybill with the phone number of the scammer on it.

08089028954, if you’re in a similar situation, check to see if the number they ask you to call is the same, don’t trust them, they are scammers!

If you call the number, they will ask you to pay a small amount like N7,500 to clear your gadgets. It seems like a fair deal, pay N7,500 for a $1000 Apple MacBook and iPhone, except it is a scam. Once you made the first payment they will ask you for more and more money, as they’ve now sensed you are desperate and greedy.

Conclusion

This type of scam is called local Yahoo. Nigerian scammers that used to scam foreigners are now doing it at home, be vigilant.

No one, out of the goodness of their hearts, will send random strangers on Facebook expensive gadgets. If anything online looks too good to be true, that is because it is too good to be true. Don’t be greedy, protect yourself from scammers and lookout for the following tell.

If you can’t see someone’s friends list on Facebook, the account is most likely fake. You can’t read the comments on their posts and pictures because they turn it off. You see a picture with say 20 comments, but when you click on the comments you can’t read them, scam alert!

Nigerian scammers and Yahoo boys used to scam Americans and other foreigners, but now these criminals are beginning to operate locally and target other unsuspecting Nigerians, be vigilant. Check this Nairaland thread to read the experiences of other Nigerians.

The post Beware of Facebook Scammers Claiming to Send you Apple Gadgets via British Airways appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.