Banking has been made increasingly easier in the last few years. Mobile banking has taken banking to a whole new level. Access Bank Plc is not left out in these advancements. These days you hardly ever need to go to the banking hall as almost everything can be done with your phone. With this ease in the banking sector comes the fear and concern of fraud.

The same technology that makes banking easy also makes it easy for people to be scammed. Fake credit/debit alert fraud/scam is on the rise daily.

As an Access Bank customer, how can you protect yourself from this menace, particularly debit alert fraud? You may reason that after all, it's a fake debit alert, you didn't make a transaction. What harm could there be??

Well, it's important to know that fake debit alerts are oftentimes the gateway to actual fraudulent debit alerts.

If you get a debit notification of transactions you did not perform or authorize, don't just shrug it off as the real theft is approaching.

For a business owner, a fake debit alert could be a sign that an employee/staff, business partner or anyone else for that matter is attempting to do away with your hard-earned money illegally. Knowing what your bank's debit alert looks like would go a long way to help keep your money safe

Differences between a fake debit alert and a real/genuine one.

1. Fake debit alerts might not have your bank's name as the sender's I.D. A genuine debit alert from an Access bank would always have the banks name on the sender's I.D
2. A genuine Access Bank debit alert would always have details of your current bank balance as opposed to a fake one.
3. A fake Access Bank debit alert may be sent to your "wrong number". Your account is linked to one phone number, and all SMS alerts would go to only that number. So be sure it's the number your bank account is linked to that you receive debit alerts from.
4. Fake debit alerts may also contain a phone number asking you to call if you have questions or concerns or to text "Yes/No" for certain transactions.
5. An Access Bank debit alert would contain some digital codes and also specify transaction details.
6. A fake debit alert may contain wrongly spelt words.
7. You should also make sure that all alerts are in the same message thread. What's the possibility of it being genuine and not being in the same thread as previous messages?

Having seen the differences between a fake and real Access Bank debit alert, here are a few things that a genuine access bank debit alert would contain:

1. Access bank on the sender's i.d.
2. Transaction time, which is the date.
3. Amount debited and available bank balance.
4. Your account number; The first 3 digits of your account number, followed by 4 asterisks and the last 3 digits of your account number.

Below is an example of what an actual debit alert from Accessbank looks like.

So if you have received a debit alert that you aren't comfortable with or have suspicions about, you may want to compare it with the one below and also go through it thoroughly to see if it has the features of a genuine Access bank debit alert.

   Debit

Amt: NGN30,000.00

Acc:150****466

Desc:098WNVI3531pds/POS/WEB PMT SUITE 28 NUEL AMAC NG

Time:19/12/2021

Avail Bal: NGN272.47

Total: NGN272.47

Today's fraudsters and scammers are smart about what they do. Fake debit alerts can be made to look genuine and for this reason, you should carefully scrutinize all alerts you receive.

It's important, however, that you always check your account details using your bank app or Ussd code whenever you get alerts of transactions that you did not perform. It is even better to take time off and go to the bank to verify things yourself.

Bulk SMS is what makes it so easy for individuals to carry out these criminal activities seamlessly. At SmartSMSSolutions, we offer honest and affordable bulk SMS services for businesses and other communication needs.

Click here and let's get you started on the path to great communication with your customers, clients and business partners.