Nigerians have been advised to take extra precautions when carrying out electronic banking transactions to avoid becoming victims of cybercriminals who are constantly perfecting ways to dispossess people of their hard-earned money.
Some respondents who gave the admonition in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital, while speaking on the increasing rate of cybercrime, warned citizens to be particularly careful of Point of Sale, POS, operators, many of whom they said have been recruited by cyber-scammers.
POS terminals were introduced in Nigeria as part of measures to ensure financial inclusion as well as promote a cashless economy.
However, unknown to many Nigerians, the 10 to 14 digit numbers on Automated Teller Machine, ATM, cards, are codes through which funds in a bank account can be withdrawn electronically.
This has negatively been used by online fraudsters who have since been co-opting POS operators in their nefarious enterprise.
ICT expert, Emmanuel Iwebor, harps on the need for banks and other financial institutions to educate the public on cyber theft and what to do when faced with such a situation.
A 2020 report of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System indicated that the banking industry lost about 3.5 billion Naira to the activities of cyber-criminals from July to September 2019 alone.