getMotiff
All guides

If someone gets into your bank account

Act within the hour if you can. Money moves fast, and the sooner your bank knows, the more it can do to stop transfers or to trace and hold the money.

Do these now

  1. Call your bank's fraud line. Use the number on the back of your card or inside the bank's official app. Never use a number from a text, email, WhatsApp message or social media page.
  2. Ask them to block access. Have them lock the account, the app and every card, and stop any transfer that is still pending.
  3. Ask them to flag the receiving accounts. Give them the amounts, times and account details of each transfer so they can contact the other bank and try to hold the money.
  4. Write down what you see. Save transaction references, amounts, times and any messages you received. Take screenshots before anything changes.
  5. Get a reference number for your report, and ask what happens next and by when.

Then, the same day

  1. Check your phone for remote-access apps. If anyone guided you to install a screen-sharing or remote-control app, such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, remove it. Don't use that phone for banking until it has been checked or reset.
  2. Change your email password first, from a device you trust. Email can reset almost everything else. Then look in your email settings for forwarding rules or recovery details you didn't add.
  3. Change your bank app passcode and PIN, then the passwords for your other accounts.
  4. Sign out other devices in the bank app and remove any device you don't recognise.
  5. Check that your phone still works. If you lost signal without reason, read the SIM-swap guide.
  6. Report it to the police, or to the EFCC for online fraud, and keep the report. Your bank may ask for it.

Be careful about

  • "Safe account" requests. No bank, police officer or agency will ask you to move your money to another account to protect it.
  • Recovery agents. People who message you offering to get your money back for a fee are almost always running a second scam.

If the bank doesn't help

Put your complaint in writing and keep a copy. If the bank doesn't resolve it, you can take it to the consumer protection channels of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Bring your reference numbers and your evidence.

Going forward

  • Turn on transaction alerts by SMS or email for every account.
  • Set a daily transfer limit that suits you.
  • Never share an OTP, a PIN or your BVN with anyone, including people who say they work for your bank.