Yuletide: E-PPAN Urges Nigerians To Be Security Conscious

E-payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN) has urged Nigerians to be security conscious especially at this festive season where a lot of transactions take place with the use of various payment instruments.

Be it shopping physically at merchant outlets using the POS terminal; mobile Banking/Payment; online transactions or even at the ATM, E-PPAN said that users must be careful to avoid the eagle-eyes of financial fraudsters.

Typically, fraudsters also use this festive season to launch their nefarious activities to unsuspecting bank customers.

The onus, E-PPAN said, is therefore, on the individual first, to consider safety in all transactions, and these will take some extra and conscious effort by the individual.

Regha Onajite, executive secretary and chief executive officer of E-PPAN, said in a statement on Monday, “Like we all always tell consumers it is very safe to use any of any of the payment instruments but to minimize the chances of becoming a victim of electronic  fraud we advice consumers  to follow some safety tips such as; Look after your cards and card details at all times ; Try not to let your card out of your sight when making a transaction, and don’t leave your cards unattended in public places.

“We emphasize that NEVER share your PIN with anyone, ensure you are the only person that knows your PIN. Your bank will never ask you to disclose it; anyone who does ask you for your PIN is a fraudster. Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe – Protect Your PIN”.

Onajite said, “For those who will use the ATM at any point we always advice that never use an ATM at any isolated location especially at night and weekends. ATM’s are generally very safe; however they do sometimes attract criminal attention so you still need to follow common sense precautions when withdrawing cash.

“At the ATM when entering your PIN, Stand close to the ATM , use your free hand and your body to shield the number in case someone is watching you over your shoulder. Once you have completed a transaction put your money and card away before leaving the ATM.

“If the ATM does not return your card, report it immediately to your service provider. Destroy or preferably shred your ATM receipts, mini-statements or balance enquiries when you dispose of them.

“If you think someone has seen your PIN you can change it at the next ATM or by contacting your bank.  To minimize the chances of having your card or card details stolen at an ATM  we say that if you spot anything unusual about the ATM, or there are signs of tampering, do not use it. Report it to the relevant authorities immediately.

Ntia Nnene Sylvia, media and strategy development manager at E-PPAN quoted the Executive Secretary in the statement advising those traveling overseas to call their financial service providers and inform them on their location of travel.

“Only take cards that you intend to use; leave others in a secure place at home. When you are overseas don’t let your card out of your sight, especially in restaurants and bars; when you get back check your card statements carefully for unfamiliar transactions. If there are any, report them to your financial service provider as soon as possible.

Also some will be doing online transactions, our advice to those category of people is that they should only shop on secure sites. Before entering card details ensure that the locked padlock or unbroken key symbol is showing in your browser. Additionally, the beginning of the online retailer’s internet address will change from ‘http’ to ‘https’ to indicate the connection is secure. Never send your PIN over the internet. Always log out properly after shopping online – if the website you have used has a ‘sign out’ or ‘log off’ button, click it when you have finished, especially if you have been using a shared or public computer.

“As additional preventative measures when banking online, you should ensure your browser is set to the highest level of security notification and monitoring. Be particularly security-conscious if you are using a public computer or public Wi-Fi internet connection,” the statement read.

E-PPAN said that if everyone follows the safety security tips as have been highlighted they would have protected themselves from being victims of fraud.

Amongst other programmatic activities for 2015, the E-Payment Providers of Nigeria E-PAN has put consumer awareness and campaign as regards to Fraud in its front burner for 2015 working in tandem with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the industry.