With the advent of ATM cards, moving cash around in large or even small amounts was drastically reduced. It was believed that this would reduce the rate of robberies, as there was fewer cash in circulation. But robbers (together with their cohorts, kidnappers) have upped their game. In recent times, we've seen several cases of people being robbed at gunpoint or kidnapped and their ATM cards obtained (with the PINS of course), which led to the empty accounts of the 'robbee' or 'kidnappee'. Since they've upped their game, we have to up ours too. We can do this by adhering to the following tips (that's if we've not already done so).

• Have At Least Two Accounts With Different Banks
An average Nigerian has about two or more accounts with different banks in the country. If you fall within this category, then kudos to you. If you don't, no worries. You may want to open a new account as soon as possible. It's no more as tedious as it used to be, so try it out.

• Get Your ATM Cards
In this century, some persons are still scared of obtaining ATM cards for their accounts from their banks, e.g my Grandmother. "You want them to steal my money, shey?", she asked me when I queried her why she had vehemently refused to get her ATM card. While she can be excused because her generation didn't make use of it initially, we today know better. We know banks spend a lot each year on cyber security to prevent breaches/hacks on their systems. While breaches may happen at times, it doesn't often happen, so your money is relatively safe.

• Activate E-Banking Services On At Least One Of Your Accounts
Before you do this, identify which of the banks have reliable E-banking services and lower bank charges. I'm not out to bash/promote any bank, so I'll not mention names, but some banks are just out to suck out your hard earned cash with ridiculous charges for services you don't even make use of. So be wary of those kind of banks.

• Keep the Bulk of Your Cash In One Account
Now I'm not referring to those who siphon billions of dollars/naira of government money into their personal accounts (Baba Das. and Co.). This tip wouldn't work for them. I'm referring to normal 'hustlers' like you and me. Perhaps you collect a salary at the end of the month, or you are a contractor or business man/woman. In whatever way you generate your income, keep the bulk of it in one account. Then with your E-banking services, which you can use at the comfort of your home with even your phone, transfer some part of it which you plan to use for a week into your other account. This is quite easy as you don't have join any queue to do this. This would just require that you make a weekly or biweekly estimate of your expenses, then transfer a little fraction over the amount for any exigency to your other account.

For those who don't understand, lemme break it down. If, for example I have like 400K in my account and I plan on spending, let's say like 15K every week, then the 400K would be in my 'Main Account', while I transfer, let's say, like 20K to my 'Alternate' account EVERY WEEK. I'll go about my normal weekly activities with the ATM card containing the 20K, while the ATM card containing the bulk of my money is left at home. You understand now, right? When you've done that, follow the next step.

• Never go out with your 'main' ATM card
The reason is obvious now, isn't it? The bulk of your entire savings is now within that card. Please, don't go out with it. With just the butt of a gun pressed to your back or the shiny blade of a pen knife, you may be requested to give up your ATM card and PIN. Like they say when these things happen, 'when there is life, there is hope'. And since you'll definitely want to preserve your life, you would be forced to give up your savings. And those guys are so bad that they wouldn't even leave any 'change' for you. But if it was your 'Alternate' ATM card, you'll give, scratch that, you'll gladly give them the card and pin knowing fully well that the bulk of your cash is still very safe. And finally,

• Always Verify The Authenticity of a Website Before Making Any Transactions On It
This is very important! A friend nearly lost all she had because she wanted to pay for a service on a dubious website. Before you make payments online, verify the authenticity of the website. Read feedback of people who have used the product or service or their payment system. Google is your friend 'indeed' in this regard, use it.

So that's it guys! Modify these tips to suit your circumstances. You worked hard to make your money. Work harder to keep it safe. Is there any other tip you feel would be helpful? Please share.

By P. Dioxidane