"Diamond Bank Stole N818,000 From My Account In One Day"
A Diamond Bank customer recently shared his story on Nigerian forum, Nairaland and complained to users about the fraudulent activities that cost him N818,000 from his account. According to the customer, he opened a salary account with the bank in 2012 and as at April this year (2013) he claims he had about a total of N818, 000 in his bank account. On the 23rd of April, the customer woke up to find that his account has been completely cleared. When he was able to finally reach a customer service personnel at the bank named Mr Ifeyemi, he was told that there is nothing the bank can do to resolve the issue. The customer is now completely confused as to what to do and is currently seeking the help from anyone who can give him an idea on the next course of action to take.
We all trust our respective banks to keep our money secured and although, some unfortunate situations can
happen, does this mean we should be the ones to bear the burden? Diamond Bank, a bank that claims to be "There for you", introduced a Diamond TOKEN (basically used to generate a one-time password, aimed at securing an individual's account from fraud ) which this aggrieved customer was a part of. So one as to wonder; if we diligently take these steps to protect our account, and somehow, fraudulent activities take place, does that make us now liable?
A few months ago, precisely January 2013, it was reported that The Delta State Government has blacklisted Union Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc for allegedly defrauding it of N1.1bn paid by the American energy giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, as tax in 2012. According to the reports, it was alleged that the money paid by the oil major through the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, DSBIR, in December last year was not credited to its account until the authorities in the agency raised the alarm in January. The government therefore petitioned the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, asking the apex bank to investigate and punish the two banks for the alleged sharp practices.
While it is possible that frauds and scams such as this can occur, and perhaps the bank should not be laden with a hundred percent of the blame, isn't it imperative that they should accept some form of responsibility and try as much as possible rectify the issue without leaving all the burden on the customer? As customers, we rely on our banks to safeguard our money and other valuables, and if we do our part in taking measures provided by the bank to prevent frauds, it seems only fair that the bank also makes sure that when such fraudulent activities as this occur, there should be ways to perhaps track down the perpetrators or provide the customer with some sort of assistance.
So readers, what steps would you advise the customer to take, and who do you think should be blamed for this unfortunate incident?
