RESEARCHERS at the University of Ibadan have found that perpetrators of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Fraud are lovers, children, spouses and bank officials. Speaking on the findings of their research funded by the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine, United States of America, Drs Oludayo Tade and Oluwatosin Adeniyi, sociologist and economist respectively, explained that the lifestyle of ATM holders and their routine activities precipitated the victimisation of ATM holders. The research entitled Automated Teller Machine Fraud in Southwest Nigeria: The Shoe Wearers Perspectives identified un-reconciled inter-bank transactions as compounding the woes of ATM holders. The dons charged the Central Bank of Nigeria to develop an inclusive policy for holders of ATM cards who are illiterate to protect them from fraudsters around the banks. They argued that a good policy ought to take care of the peculiar socio-demographic characteristics of the banking public which are daily excluded owing to non-inclusive policies in the banking sector. Such policy must take into consideration the peculiar needs and challenges facing the physically challenged. The researchers also revealed that the cashless policy of using ATM cards has brought about the issue of trust in mobile payment technology. They warned holders of mobile technology payment cards against trusting anybody with their cards and Personal Identification Numbers. They urged card holders to endeavour to use the ATM of the banks they hold their cards for easy redress of fraud. Many victims of ATM fraud got frustrated by going to another bank to complain and not getting anything. They reported that the bank will tell them to come back endlessly without success. They simply give up after some months, they said. They identified the identities of fraudsters to include relatives, lovers, children, friends as well as insiders within banks. According to them, due to the complexities involved and the literacy level in Nigeria, the illiterate bankers are forcefully made to obtain ATM cards by banks without adequate knowledge of how to use it. We found out that one old woman who was defrauded approached her bank and was given the card. Because she could not understand how to press the bottons, she approached some boys who wanted to use the machine to assist her. The boy used the opportunity to check the account and knowing the old woman did not understand anything swapped the card with his own and claimed the network was bad. After the woman left, he used the card and withdrew N100,000. The old woman got the alert and it was at the bank that she was told the card with her was not hers but swapped. The scholars noted that husbands and wives were also found to defraud each other. They said: a woman got an alert of N100,000 on her phone and approached her bank and abused them claiming she never used her card. Her husband was also at the bank abusing the staff and threatening to sue them. Unfortunately the CCTV footage revealed that it was the husband that withdrew the money. The woman and her husband left the bank in shame. The scholars advised account holders to subscribe to alerts in order to get update on their account as the research revealed that those without alert knew that they were defrauded weeks after the money in their account had been withdrawn. Care givers such as grandchildren and domestic servants are likely to defraud the aged and weak than otherwise. This, they said was because the very old may not be strong to queue at the ATM thereby revealing their PIN numbers to their care givers. The researchers warned against using ATM in isolated places particularly on weekends as robbers now use force to defraud, suggesting regular change of PIN to check victimisation. When you withdraw during the week and there is problem, you can easily call your bank and block your account but during weekend, help may be far. Many of our respondents got alert during the night and weekends. A victim told us that he was robbed at the ATM on a Sunday where robbers killed a lady who refused to hand over the PIN and the card. He was asked to insert his card to confirm the PIN, they collected his phones so as to demobilise him of calling for help and later in the day withdrew N200,000 before he got to his bank on Monday. The research identified bussiness collapse, increase in vulnerability, psychological trauma, worsened health, deepened hopelessness as the consequences of ATM fraud on the lives of the victims.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 00:47:46 +0000
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