{
  "id": 15011302,
  "title": "Firm warns customers against suspicious links, unauthorised transactions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/firm-warns-customers-against-suspicious-links-unauthorised-15011302",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T18:16:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/firm-warns-customers-against-suspicious-links-unauthorised-transactions/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's leading digital bank, PalmPay, has issued a warning to its customers against falling victim to fraudulent schemes. The bank urged its users to exercise caution when receiving suspicious links or authorizing unauthorized transactions. This advisory was released following Customer Service Week, highlighting the risks associated with fraudsters impersonating bank representatives to extract sensitive information or deceive users.\n\nImpersonation scams can occur via phone calls, messaging platforms, or other communication channels. Fraudsters may pose as customer service agents, offering fake rewards, promising refunds, or requesting account details under the guise of resolving complaints. In 2025, financial institutions in Nigeria lost N25.85bn to fraud, a decrease from N52.26bn in 2024, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. Social engineering contributed to 47% of fraud cases, resulting in N17.84bn in losses.\n\nPalmPay emphasized that customers should never share one-time passwords, personal identification numbers, passwords, or verification codes with anyone. They advised users to independently verify any requests for sensitive information or actions on their accounts before responding. The bank also recommended confirming the authenticity of social media accounts and other communications claiming to represent PalmPay before sharing personal or financial information.\n\nFor merchants, PalmPay suggested verifying payments through official transaction records before releasing goods or services. If customers notice unfamiliar transactions, suspect fraudulent activity, or experience account access issues, they should contact PalmPay's official customer support channels for assistance. The company encourages users to familiarize themselves with the security features in the PalmPay app's Security Center, keep their account credentials confidential, and report suspicious activity promptly. This warning is part of PalmPay's ongoing PalmPay Dey For You campaign, which focuses on customer education about fraud prevention and safer digital financial transactions.",
  "summary": "Digital bank PalmPay has issued a security advisory warning customers not to click on suspicious links or authorize unauthorized transactions. The company urged users to verify customer support channels to protect their accounts from fraud, noting that scammers may impersonate customer service representatives via phone calls and messaging platforms. These fraudsters often pose as financial institution employees to offer fake rewards, promise refunds, or request account details to resolve complaints.\n\nAccording to Punch, the advisory follows Customer Service Week and highlights the risks of social engineering, which involves manipulating victims into disclosing confidential information. Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System shows that financial institutions lost N25.85bn to fraud in 2025, a decrease from N52.26bn in 2024. Figures presented by NIBSS at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum in January 2026 indicated that social engineering accounted for 47 per cent of fraud volume, involving N17.84bn in losses in 2025.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Firm warns customers against suspicious links, unauthorised transactions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/firm-warns-customers-against-suspicious-links-unauthorised",
        "published": "2026-10-16T18:08:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}