How Nigerians risk being defrauded by making transactions at unofficial POS business centres

Many Nigerians are in the habit of collecting money at uncertified Point-of-Sale (POS) due to the fact that they don’t want to join the queue or there are no money in the ATM closest to them.

Presently, a young man sits at an ATM point in ABU Zaria to give cash to people who are unable to withdraw their money at the ATM machine. The man charges people according to the amounts they want to withdraw.

There are many Nigerians who are also in the habit of making transactions via POS at local bars, eateries e.t.c.

Here are some of the risks people are exposed to while making transactions via ‘corner POS points’:

Vital information can be stolen

Criminals might easily steal victims’ information. It is advised that card owners use bank cards with little amount in them, than one with sizeable amount of money.

Risk of armed robbers

Armed robbers may track people with good account balance to their homes or waylay them on the road since most of the people keep their ATMs in their wallets.

Fake money:

The chances of getting counterfeit money from such corner points is high, and usually, chances of getting a refund after leaving the spot is rare.

Probability of cloning the ATM card

The security implications of cloning the ATM card is high, as a card skimmer may be used to clone a victim’s card and wipe the bank account clean. Details on cards can be copied in moments.

ATM PIN trapping

The man may be trapping the PIN of victims for a bigger scam without their knowledge.