5 ways to secure your bank account from fraudsters

• The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System revealed that financial institutions in Nigeria lost N52.26 billion to fraud in 2024
• Fraudsters deploy digital and offline means to defraud their victims
• TheRadar highlights five ways to secure your bank account from fraudsters

A recent Fraud Report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed that financial institutions in Nigeria lost N52.26 billion to fraud in 2024, which is N34.59 billion more than the N17.67 billion recorded in 2023.

The report stated that the annual fraud count reported decreased by 31 per cent from 101,624 in 2020 to 70,111 in 2024, however, the amount lost to fraud grew by 350 per cent from N11.61 billion in 2020 to N52.26 billion in 2024.

The increase in the reported amount lost to bank fraud raises concerns about the safety of funds and banking institutions.

This is particularly important due to the expanding digital banking landscape, which has brought a convenient and seamless banking experience, but also has its risks as customers are increasingly exposed to financial fraud.

To mitigate exposure and risk of falling victim to financial fraud, TheRadar highlights five ways for individuals to secure their bank accounts.

5 tips to secure your bank account from fraud

1. Be wary of suspicious calls and messages

The commonest tricks of fraudsters are to demand sensitive information to solve account issues or upgrade services while posing as bank officials.

Fraudsters often send messages or call customers and pressurise victims to share sensitive information about their bank accounts by creating a sense of urgency and panic, and even threaten to block the account or suspend services.

To reduce your risk of falling victim to bank fraud, be wary of suspicious messages and calls and never share personal banking details under any circumstances.

Ignore such messages and calls, and instead, visit a bank branch to rectify any issues with your bank account.

2. Practice regular monitoring of your account

Regularly monitoring your account is another way of securing your account as it will help in the early detection of unauthorised account access and transactions.

Also, it is easier for the bank to resolve fraudulent bank transactions when reported early.

You can monitor activities on your bank account by activating instant alerts for every transaction, making it easier to spot suspicious activity.

3. Make use of strong passwords and two-factor authentication

Another way of securing your bank account from fraud is to make use of strong, unique, and complex passwords.

It is advised not to use weak and predictable passwords like year of birth, day and month of birth, street number, etc., as this can leave accounts exposed to hacking attempts.

Also, consider using different passwords for each of your accounts. This is to make it difficult for fraudsters to access your other accounts when one is compromised.

It is also recommended to change or update your password every three to six months.

To further secure your account, use password manager applications to generate and store complex passwords securely.

It is equally important to activate two-factor authentication for your accounts to add an extra layer of security.

Two-factor authentication also makes it difficult for fraudsters to gain access even if they manage to obtain your password.

Some financial technology (fintech) companies also have features that allow users to activate face authentication before money is withdrawn from an account, as well as a night guard feature to avoid unauthorised access to customers at night.

4. Beware of divulging personal details online

Sharing your personal details on social media platforms may expose you to the risk of a fraud attack.

Reports abound of how fraudsters gain access to bank accounts through information found online and publicly available information.

Financial experts say that the three important pieces of information that fraudsters need to access one’s bank account are name, date of birth, and address, which are almost readily available online due to the growing fad of sharing personal details online.

To avoid falling victim to fraud attacks, limit how much information you share online.

5. Keep your offline banking information safe

Beyond digital banking information, keep your physical banking information such as chequebooks, specimen signatures, and PINs safe.

When physical banking details are not securely kept, you make your account vulnerable to a fraud attack.

As a rule, do not divulge banking details to anyone except close family members if necessary. Also, keep documents with your bank details secure to reduce unauthorised access and transactions.

5 common scams every Nigerian should be aware of

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that scams in Nigeria have become a prevalent issue that affects many Nigerians daily. Unlike international fraudsters who target foreign, dollar-earning victims, local scammers typically target unsuspecting individuals in the country.

These frauds are often carried out through simple but cunning methods, often ranging from small-scale financial fraud to petty online fraud, and these five common scams.