FNBB, Police Investigate Money Scam
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday October 3, 2017 18:00
Two weeks ago, a number of First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) customers reportedly flocked the bank to report a money scam, as their money was mysteriously withdrawn from their accounts by international fake bank accounts. The matter is currently being investigated by the police.
Customers’ money was believed to have been withdrawn by alleged fake international bank accounts from a far as Indonesia and other countries. Responding to The Monitor’s questionnaire on the alleged money scam, FNBB marketing and communications director, Obonye Malope confirmed that there have been cases of international fraud affecting some of their customers.
Even though Malope could not go into details, she stated that the identified cases are under investigation with the assistance of the police.
She said in respect of customer confidentiality and the investigation process, the bank is not in a position to give details of the specific cases. She said in a broader view, the recent fraud activities have impacted other players in the banking industry throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
She said that FNBB has a compensation and dispute resolution process in place which is applied following a thorough investigation process and each case is treated on its merit following an investigation. She said FNBB has robust security measures in place to prevent hacking of customer’s accounts.
Customers are reminded to always keep secret their usernames and passwords in order to avoid them falling into wrong hands.
She advised customers against sharing their personlal identity number (PIN), but rather to memorise it.
“Never give your card or PIN to anyone for any reason, not even to bank officials. You should know that no bank official will ever ask any customer for their PIN,” Malope said.
Malope encouraged their customers to stand close to the ATM and cover the key pad when keeying in their PIN, check the ATM for any foreign or unusual objects before using it as security tips. “Do not accept unsolicited assistance from strangers around ATMs. Do not force your card into the card slot. Only key in your PIN when prompted to do so by the ATM.
Always check that it is your card you get back from the ATM and avoid using ATMs in secluded areas after dark.
Take care of your card.Should you lose, misplace or your card is retained by the ATM, immediately cancel your card on the digital channels or at branch/contact centre and check your statements regularly for any unauthorised transactions/withdrawals,” Malope advised.
She stated that FNBB’s in-contact service assists customers to detect and report immediately any unauthorised transactions in their accounts. She said FNBB contact centre is linked to the FNB Group system that is available 24 hours and assists customers with cards cancellation and any fraud related issues.
Reached for comment the Botswana Police Service public relations officer, Dipheko Motube confirmed awareness of the cases and investigations into the matter are ongoing.
“We are aware of the cases and currently investigating them, but we cannot at this moment comment any further into the matter until we have completed our investigations,” Motube said.