BVN Scam: Man Shares Sad Experience

Since the beginning of the week, there has been controversy
about Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) in Nigerian banks.
Many account holders have not been able to withdraw from
their accounts because their BVNs have not been linked with
their accounts. Latest reports say scammers are using the
opportunity to rip off many Nigerians of their hard earned
money.
A Nairaland user has shared an eye-opening experience he
had, which even the most cautious person may even fall for!
Read his experience below:
“Please read this carefully, it may save you a few hundred, or a
few thousand, or may be a few million bucks. It’s a personal
experience, a true event that happened this afternoon. I am
Sunday Adewole, I just fell victim of fraudsters a few hours ago.
I am an account holder with one of Nigeria’s new generation
banks, I am trying to put fund together to pay for my daughter’s
tuition fee in CU in which case the institution already resumed
last week.
Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from somebody purportedly
from the bank who said “Am I speaking with Dr.
Adewole” (called out my other names) to which I answered in
the affirmative. He said he called in respect of my BVN which I
was observed not to have done, I replied that I already had it
done with a different and he said the bank will send me a link so
that my account with his bank will be linked with the BVN. True
to our conversation, I receive a message from his bank in which
an OTP was sent to my phone.
A few minutes later, he called to ask if I got the the SMS, I told
him yes but I can’t do anything about it cos I was driving. He
said no problem I should call out the numbers which I did and
he thanked me for my cooperation in a customer service
manner. I heard nothing since then till this afternoon at
precisely 13:00 hrs when I received a SMS from his bank
informing me of a debit transaction which cleared my account to
the lowest thousand, i.e. I was left with a paltry N685 (six
hundred and eighty five naira).
I called my account officer who confirmed to me that I have
fallen victim of fraudsters and he checked up on my account and
saw that the recipient acct is in another bank. My puzzle is how
did they get my account details? How were they able to
generate an OTP to my phone. I am waiting to see what my
bank would do on it. In the mean time, please be aware of what
the 419 people can do. I’ll keep you posted on any new
development.”
Just recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) urged bank
customers to be wary of individuals alerting them on the
deactivation of their bank accounts due to uncompleted
BVNs.
Ibrahim Mu’ azu, the director of corporate communications
of the CBN released the statement via the apex bank’s
website. Mu’azu revealed that some scammers are sending
messages to bank customers indicating their accounts have
been deactivated due to the BVN deadline to fleece innocent
Nigerians.