8 Ways to Detect Fake Bank Alerts

This post is to enlighten all our readers who have been previously scammed or anxious to know how to detect fake bank alerts in order to stay informed and prevent them from being victims of scammers later in the future.

Many people in Nigeria and other countries have, in one way or another, been scammed (or defrauded) precisely via fake bank transaction alerts because they do not have beforehand knowledge to identify FAKE bank alerts from the ORIGINAL or legitimate bank alerts.

Remember, anyone is prone to swindling, but it is advisable to know the “red flags” to avoid losing your savings or hard-earned money negligently to fraudsters without any trace.

The first rule is to desist from giving your phone number along with the bank account number; the sender only needs your bank account number, not your phone number.

Meanwhile, if you are using mobile FinTech banks like OPay, Palmpay, Kuda, and the like that use your phone number(s) without the first zero as your wallet account number(s), always use their mobile apps to confirm your transactions. Do not rely only on the SMS alerts.

8 Ways to Detect Fake Bank Alerts

1. Check for this word: "ProBank.”

First, check the word ProBank in the transaction alert message you receive; if it is reflected, kindly disregard it because it is a 99.9% fake alert sent by using the ProBank app.

The ProBank app is a mobile application that allows you to simulate or pretend that you are rich and deposit as much money as you wish.

It is a prank app used for a finance game, but fraudsters have turned it into a tool for defrauding people.

2. Know Your Account Balance’s Major Figure

Always have a precise knowledge of your bank account balance regularly; even if it is just the major figure, i.e., if you have 74,823 in your bank balance, you can master 74,500 or 74,000 as your main balance or major figure.

With that in mind, all you just need to do is add the new amount sent to your known major account balance figure. 

3. Check the Sender’s Name

To authenticate whether the SMS transaction alert was sent to you by your bank’s official SMS service, confirm the name of the sender.

Kindly be aware that almost all the banks are using their bank names as SMS headings, so any transaction alert showing a phone number should be disregarded.

4. Check the Email Source

If you are the type using email for confirmation, check the email source. Scammers do go to any length to get your information intact before striking.

5. Pay Attention to Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Frankly speaking, it is very rare for legitimate commercial banks to make spelling and grammar mistakes while writing bank alerts because they are professionals. 

Mostly, fake alerts do contain spelling and grammar errors.

6. Don’t Click Any Suspicious Link Inside Bank Alerts

Scammers like continuity. After the first successful act, they always want to continue defrauding their victims; therefore, no legitimate bank alerts will include any link to click for further actions inside their bank alerts, e.g., account information update, date of birth verification, change in home address, etc. 

7. Use a Regularly Updated Bank App

The most advisable way to confirm original bank alerts is the use of regularly updated bank mobile apps to enable the latest security patches. You can also enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to augment an extra layer of security.

However, do not rely on the balance figure alone; check the transaction history to view the transaction details of the sender so as to detect any suspicious activity.

8. Be Bold Enough to Contact Your Bank Directly

Never be afraid to contact your bank directly, whether you are educated or not, because you are free to speak with your bank customer service agent in any language of your choice.

So, if you are unsure about the authenticity of a bank alert, be bold enough to call your bank’s customer service directly to confirm the necessary information.

In conclusion, all the above-mentioned eight (8) ways must be kept in mind in order to detect fake bank alerts with ease.

Thank you for reading.

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