This week, Nigerian fintech pioneer PalmPay announced the beginning of Wallet Safe Workshop, a recurring training program for payment security awareness that would assist users to increase their overall security awareness and learn how to recognize and avoid e-scammers.
In recent years, Africa has seen a considerable surge in the adoption of the internet and digital payments. The quick increase in connectivity has resulted in many potential problems including fake news, the leak of personal information, and financial fraud, among others.
Mobile Fraud Rises in Nigeria
The overall number of fraud attempts in Nigeria increased by 186% between 2019 and 2020, according to a recent study from the NIBSS (Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System). While web and POS fraud attempts decreased, mobile fraud attempts increased by 330% year over year.
The Wallet Safe Workshop
With the introduction of the Wallet Safe Workshop, PalmPay will make information about and expose examples of social media and telecom fraud as well as how to spot fraudulent behavior both online and offline, using the app, social media, and official websites, and printed materials.
In particular, seeks to improve anti-fraud warning education for vulnerable individuals like students and senior citizens, and promote legal provisions related to the proper use of mobile wallet accounts, to effectively raise people’s awareness of combating and managing telecom fraud and cybersecurity.
“The expanding use of digital payments brings new risk and security concerns,” stated Chika Nwosu, MD of PalmPay, “PalmPay is committed to delivering users with a secure and trustworthy digital payment experience. We will continue to optimize our risk control procedures, and look forward to collaborating with law enforcement and cybersecurity partners to prevent fraud and ensure payment security.”
If a person suspects that they or someone else has fallen victim to fraudulent activities on PalmPay’s services, they should contact PalmPay customer service via in-app chat, email, social media, or call center.
PalmPay says it will investigate and freeze accounts to avoid additional loss due to fraudulent activities and to maximize the chances of tracing and retrieving funds.
