Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise - Crime (3)

Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise - Crime (3) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum › Nairaland General › Crime › Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise (11868 Views)

Poll: Have you ever successfully recovered money after being scammed through a bank/fintech transfer?

✅ Yes, I recovered the money 24% (11 votes)

❌ No, I was unable to recover it 75% (34 votes)

This poll has ended

1 2 3 4 Reply (Go Down)

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by MissOpe(op): 4:02pm On Aug 17

Luckysbab:
Sorry about this terrible experience .

Please stay strong.

Thanks bro...

I appreciate the kind words🙏🙏🙏

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by MissOpe(op): 4:05pm On Aug 17

Lukuluku69:
Sorry about the loss.

It is always good to double check when it comes to money transfers in this age and time.

Follow up with Moniepoint and the Police and the court perhaps the BVN linked to that Account will be flagged and at least put him or her out of business and also you don't have to scrub out the Account details for that Account. Let everyone see it.

I'm yet to freeze the account, as the police asked me to come for the report today.
If I display his number, some unscrupulous elements here may decide to reach the scammer and start advising him or her.

2 Likes

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by zed7: 4:07pm On Aug 17

As sad as it is to say, the money is gone. Use this as a lesson and move on.

I'm not discouraging you, just letting you know that you have less than a 1% chance of recovery. Most of us have passed through this road.

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by dominique(mod): 4:08pm On Aug 17

capnies:
You did not check the account name uf it's your friend's.

Next time call the person chatting with you

What they normally do is tell their victims that their account is having issues and they'll provide an alternate account to pay into. Or they tell you that they need to make an important payment and they're unable to access their account. If it's someone you know and trust, you'd comply without suspecting anything. That's why it's important that you call the person on phone and confirm it's truly him or her

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Successlane: 4:09pm On Aug 17

FutureFocus:
Rule no 1, always call before eventually sending the money , I share your feeling, sorry about your loss

Same here.

Pele.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Moneyboyz: 4:11pm On Aug 17

We've all gotten the message on Whatsapp at some point, how they do it I don't know.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Firstorderwizard(m): 4:15pm On Aug 17

In as much as I wish you best of luck, don't expect much from opay and palmpay.
My 1.5M that I sent to a scammer from opay to Kuda don enter voicemail.
Apart from helping easier transaction, Fintechs are safe haven for scammers

MissOpe:
Good day everyone.

I am currently dealing with a very painful situation, and I need advice from people who have experience with fraud cases and fund recovery in Nigeria.

A close friend contacted me through WhatsApp asking me to help her with some funds. Because I knew the person, I believed it was genuinely her and agreed to help.

She sent me an account number to make the transfer, which I did from my PalmPay account. She later contacted me again and gave me another account number, asking me to send another amount.

At that point, I became suspicious and asked her to confirm that I was actually communicating with her. Instead of confirming, she started giving different excuses and avoiding the question.

That was when I realized that I might have been dealing with someone who had compromised or impersonated my friend's WhatsApp account, and that I had been scammed.

The total amount I lost was ₦200,000.

Immediately after realizing what had happened, I contacted OPay because the money was sent to an OPay account. I requested that the recipient's account be frozen/restricted, but OPay directed me to contact PalmPay since PalmPay was the sending institution.

I reported the matter to PalmPay and PalmPay subsequently informed me that they require a Police Report or Court Order before they can proceed with the case.

I am currently obtaining the Police Report and will upload it as requested.
Please, I need advice from anyone who has experienced something similar:

Has anyone successfully recovered money transferred to an OPay account belonging to a scammer?

After submitting the Police Report, how long does the recovery process normally take?

Is there anything else I should do to increase my chances of recovering the ₦200,000?

Should I also report the matter to the EFCC or the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre?

I have the transaction receipts, WhatsApp conversations, and other evidence relating to the incident.

Please, I would really appreciate practical advice from people who have gone through a similar situation, especially anyone who has successfully recovered their money.

Thank you.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Nobody: 4:16pm On Aug 17

WhiteIverson:
If you get the court order, a restriction can be placed on the account but if the money has been moved then unfortunately you won't be able to recover the funds immediately.

I think there's also a way to blacklist the users BVN by the financial institution.

Are you a police officer? That is how you people discourage people from taking action

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by emmykk(m): 4:18pm On Aug 17

WhiteIverson:
If you get the court order, a restriction can be placed on the account but if the money has been moved then unfortunately you won't be able to recover the funds immediately.

I think there's also a way to blacklist the users BVN by the financial institution.

All these don't work,there was a time I sent money to someone from my pos.all effort to get it is in vein.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Kalulu44: 4:30pm On Aug 17

Lolz! This one was sent to me yesterday. I just gave him a simple reply hahahaha.
No be say shoot bird im mama fly, nobody fit scam me for this life

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by MissOpe(op): 4:33pm On Aug 17

Firstorderwizard:
In as much as I wish you best of luck, don't expect much from opay and palmpay.
My 1.5M that I sent to a scammer from opay to Kuda don enter voicemail.
Apart from helping easier transaction, Fintechs are safe haven for scammers

Thanks for your input....

I appreciate it alot...

I'll do my best and leave the rest for the universe to do its own

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Psoul(m): 4:43pm On Aug 17

MissOpe:
Good day everyone.

I am currently dealing with a very painful situation, and I need advice from people who have experience with fraud cases and fund recovery in Nigeria.

A close friend contacted me through WhatsApp asking me to help her with some funds. Because I knew the person, I believed it was genuinely her and agreed to help.

She sent me an account number to make the transfer, which I did from my PalmPay account. She later contacted me again and gave me another account number, asking me to send another amount.

At that point, I became suspicious and asked her to confirm that I was actually communicating with her. Instead of confirming, she started giving different excuses and avoiding the question.

That was when I realized that I might have been dealing with someone who had compromised or impersonated my friend's WhatsApp account, and that I had been scammed.

The total amount I lost was ₦200,000.

Immediately after realizing what had happened, I contacted OPay because the money was sent to an OPay account. I requested that the recipient's account be frozen/restricted, but OPay directed me to contact PalmPay since PalmPay was the sending institution.

I reported the matter to PalmPay and PalmPay subsequently informed me that they require a Police Report or Court Order before they can proceed with the case.

I am currently obtaining the Police Report and will upload it as requested.
Please, I need advice from anyone who has experienced something similar:

Has anyone successfully recovered money transferred to an OPay account belonging to a scammer?

After submitting the Police Report, how long does the recovery process normally take?

Is there anything else I should do to increase my chances of recovering the ₦200,000?

Should I also report the matter to the EFCC or the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre?

I have the transaction receipts, WhatsApp conversations, and other evidence relating to the incident.

Please, I would really appreciate practical advice from people who have gone through a similar situation, especially anyone who has successfully recovered their money.

Thank you.

Why will you just transfer money because someone you know sent a WhatsApp message to you and worst is giving you Fintech bank account that doesn't match the person's name?

I can't do that. I'll first of all confirm it by calling the person on his/her line or video call on Whatsapp.

This is how I handled one of them few days ago.
Her sent me to transfer 77k through the WhatsApp line of someone I know to a Fintech banks account.

I asked him to send bank account from any conventional bank so that I can make the transfer. Since then, he has not responded.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by pigmania: 4:49pm On Aug 17

Babe that money is gone, just take heart and move on but report to the appropriate authorities remotely. The police will even request more money from you and ask you to exercise patience, the report isn't free. It's probably a POS account, have you contacted your friend probably via cellular to know how the Whatsapp account was compromised?

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by rapcy(m): 4:49pm On Aug 17

BrutusOj:
Some people are not smart at all. How do you send such an amount to someone just because of ordinary WhatsApp chats? And to worsen the matter to an accohnt bearing another name different from what you know your friend to be? You then realised the need to confirm who you are dealing with.

Mr know it all, it can happen to anybody, there are people who when they make request you don't think twice about it because you know them and know it isn't a big deal. For the OP to respond immediately, doesn't that tell you the jind of relationship she has with that person? It can happen to anyone, no body know all the tactics for this life

4 Likes

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Psoul(m): 4:50pm On Aug 17

Psoul:
Hi

Why will you just transfer money because someone you know sent a WhatsApp message to you and worst is giving you Fintech bank account that doesn't match the person's name?

I can't do that. I'll first of all confirm it by calling the person on his/her line or video call on Whatsapp.

This is how I handled one of them few days ago.
Her sent me to transfer 77k through the WhatsApp line of someone I know to a Fintech banks account.

I asked him to send bank account from any conventional bank so that I can make the transfer. Since then, he has not responded

A search of the number on that Opay account through Truecaller confirmed he is a fraudster

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by regenerateman(m): 4:56pm On Aug 17

The Nairaland family should hold you down and flog you. Your friend asked you to help her with funds, and she gave you an account number to transfer the money into and you did the transfer. Does the account number she gave bear her name? If not, why did you transfer the fund if the account does not tally with her name? That’s a red flag. We need to start thinking outside the box so we can reduce the burden on our already overstretched security agencies. The reversal is contingent on the availability of funds in the account, co-operation from the receiving institution etc.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Psoul(m): 5:03pm On Aug 17

WhiteIverson:
The beneficiary's BVN can be blacklisted by the financial institution which they used to receive the money. You need to gather evidence and proof of scam. Send a formal complaint directly to the fraud desk or customer care email of that specific bank.

Also obtain a police report and court order to enable the bank carry out the blacklisting and recovery of the money.

If the money has been moved out of the account, there's nothing the bank can do. After blacklisting the BVN, the customers accounts will be frozen. They will be required to visit the bank and clear up the issue

Some of those account numbers they use are stolen SIM cards they hacked.
If you're tracing it the name will not be the same person that committed the crime. They'll just move the money to any random POS operator and collect the cash.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by TemmyT002(m): 5:10pm On Aug 17

I almost fell victim of this.
One of my customers who only comes once on five weeks sent a message to me on Whatsapp. He needed 280k urgently and would return it in the evening. The only time I see him is on the road where I greet him, and that's all.
I didn't even reply at all. The next day, I greeted him and he greeted me back.
No word about the request.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by MissOpe(op): 5:11pm On Aug 17

Psoul:
Hi

Why will you just transfer money because someone you know sent a WhatsApp message to you and worst is giving you Fintech bank account that doesn't match the person's name?

I can't do that. I'll first of all confirm it by calling the person on his/her line or video call on Whatsapp.

This is how I handled one of them few days ago.
Her sent me to transfer 77k through the WhatsApp line of someone I know to a Fintech banks account.

I asked him to send bank account from any conventional bank so that I can make the transfer. Since then, he has not responded.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me bro..

I never would have believed I would fall for such until it happened..

It's a lesson learnt...

I guess such is life

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Lukuluku69(m): 5:15pm On Aug 17

MissOpe:
I'm yet to freeze the account, as the police asked me to come for the report today.
If I display his number, some unscrupulous elements here may decide to reach the scammer and start advising him or her.

You may be right with Nairalanders reaching out to the scammer for advice on how to navigate this issue here but I feel it will make him/her to be known for what he/she is.

As for the Police, keep it at and get that Report so that this guy can be put out of business and you possibly getting back your money.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by pvicky(m): 5:15pm On Aug 17

Sorry about that. This should serve as a lesson to all, we should try to verify the voice of friends and love one, through phone calls. Before conducting any forms of financial assistance or transactions...

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by MissOpe(op): 5:22pm On Aug 17

Lukuluku69:
You may be right with Nairalanders reaching out to the scammer for advice on how to navigate this issue here but I feel it will make him/her to be known for what he/she is.

As for the Police, keep it at and get that Report so that this guy can be put out of business and you possibly getting back your money.

As soon as I get the police report and act on the account..

I'll release the scammers phone number/Account Number....

Thanks for your input bro..

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Hungrychicken(m): 6:00pm On Aug 17

MissOpe:
Good day everyone.

I am currently dealing with a very painful situation, and I need advice from people who have experience with fraud cases and fund recovery in Nigeria.

A close friend contacted me through WhatsApp asking me to help her with some funds. Because I knew the person, I believed it was genuinely her and agreed to help.

She sent me an account number to make the transfer, which I did from my PalmPay account. She later contacted me again and gave me another account number, asking me to send another amount.

At that point, I became suspicious and asked her to confirm that I was actually communicating with her. Instead of confirming, she started giving different excuses and avoiding the question.

That was when I realized that I might have been dealing with someone who had compromised or impersonated my friend's WhatsApp account, and that I had been scammed.

The total amount I lost was ₦200,000.

Immediately after realizing what had happened, I contacted OPay because the money was sent to an OPay account. I requested that the recipient's account be frozen/restricted, but OPay directed me to contact PalmPay since PalmPay was the sending institution.

I reported the matter to PalmPay and PalmPay subsequently informed me that they require a Police Report or Court Order before they can proceed with the case.

I am currently obtaining the Police Report and will upload it as requested.
Please, I need advice from anyone who has experienced something similar:

Has anyone successfully recovered money transferred to an OPay account belonging to a scammer?

After submitting the Police Report, how long does the recovery process normally take?

Is there anything else I should do to increase my chances of recovering the ₦200,000?

Should I also report the matter to the EFCC or the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre?

I have the transaction receipts, WhatsApp conversations, and other evidence relating to the incident.

Please, I would really appreciate practical advice from people who have gone through a similar situation, especially anyone who has successfully recovered their money.

Thank you.

I have recovered money with Opay.

Send them the details of your transactions and chats, tell them you were scammed. They know what to do, they’ll freeze the account until you get refunded.

I did not provide any police report, it was very easy for me to get them to act

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Mrexcell(m): 6:01pm On Aug 17

MissOpe:
Thank you very much for the information. I really appreciate it.
I am already in the process of obtaining the Police Report, as PalmPay requested it before they can proceed with the case. I am hoping the funds have not been moved yet and that a restriction can still be placed on the recipient's account.
Please, regarding the BVN blacklisting you mentioned, do you mean that PalmPay/OPay can flag or blacklist the beneficiary's BVN for suspected fraud? If so, do you know the proper procedure for requesting this?
Also, if the money has already been moved from the account, is there still a process through which it can be traced and recovered?
Thank you.

The fraudster must have squandered the money by now criminals like that don't even mind been blacklisted or loosing their bvn

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Tohsynetita1(m): 6:05pm On Aug 17

Hungrychicken:
I have recovered money with Opay.

Send them the details of your transactions and chats, tell them you were scammed. They know what to do, they’ll freeze the account until you get refunded.

I did not provide any police report, it was very easy for me to get them to act

Please let me know how it's done.

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Hungrychicken(m): 6:15pm On Aug 17

Tohsynetita1:
Please let me know how it's done.

Sorry about your situation.

My issuing institution was Opay, to another Opay account.
I just followed the form on the page, filled them to the best possible way.

In my statement, I narrated the entire situation and ended with a plea to help me get back my money from the scammer.

They then froze the scammer’s account, until he provided the 20,000 back. I was then asked by Opay to lift the ban from their account after I confirmed the money has been returned.

I do not know about palmpay’s procedures, but Opay was very easy and helpful for me.

2 Likes

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by sunnyfats: 6:18pm On Aug 17

Hello Miss Ope, Sorry for your experience,

this happened to me before, I lost 100k, same format and all.

I reported the same way you did, i immediately involved police, EFCC, My bank and The recipient bank.

Well, Bank said they are investigating,
EFCC did not bother to respond because as per them, Police is already in Copy,
police later informed me that, there has been several reports of the same case, involving the same account number, after their investigation, they found out that it was a POS agent. They go to any (innocent) POS agent and request to withdraw through transfer, so, they send the POS account number to the victim, once the money is received, they collect the cash and move on.
this same method was used for 3 more transaction, all POS agents (after the investigation)
The police officer further said, the POS owner has been flagged for arrest. The POS agent was in Abuja while i was in Lagos,
They further said, the case has been presented to the CBN (not my own case tho), and CBN is working on new regulations for POS agents,
This happened around late 2024.

long story short, the police asked me if i wanted a diplomatic answer or the truth, i chose the truth. He said they are not going to do anything about my case, Nothing at all.

My understanding is, even the POS guy was scammed too, because he/she wouldn't know who is sending money, since there is no way to determine if it was a scam or not.

In your case, you are already doing the right thing, If the account in question is a business account (like POS), then there is a chance that you might get some part of your money back, that is if, at the time of freezing the account, there is enough money left in the account.

I dont know what to say tho, but, lets be positive. I hope you get your money back.

1 Like

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by Saturnalia(m): 6:34pm On Aug 17

Ishilove:
Whenever I get such requests on WhatsApp, I always advice them to repent before they find tyre on their necks.

Shuts them up all the time.

Hahahahaa! Tyre on their necks gat me LOL!

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by BewareOf419: 7:21pm On Aug 17

tested174:
hahahahahah

Why laughing 😂 nah

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by kennychidi(m): 7:33pm On Aug 17

Yes, you can recover this funds.

It might take upto 2 to 8weeks,

Ensure your palmpay already reach out to opay to place lian on the of the amount on the recipient account, then proceed to the court to obtain court order.
Once you present the court order with 2weeks the fund's will be reverse back to you.

Good luck.

Re: Scammed Of ₦200,000 Through A Friend’s Whatsapp – Please Advise by kennychidi(m): 7:38pm On Aug 17

Once court order is presented to the beneficiarybank the said amount will be reversedto the sender

FlamingBulb:
With my experience working as a customer service agent with a fintech in Nigeria...your chances of getting back your money is almost zero except you see the person one on one and held him/she.

Let me explain: We received atleast 20 of this types of calls daily in the contact centre and believe me you...the person did it to almost 200 people who have also reported from different banks.

The bank will place a lien of same amount so his/her acctn will read negative.

Imagine 10 people sent money and reported totalling let say 1.8m

So you that sent 200k even if he had not withdrawn the money..it will automatically disappear BC his acct will be reading -1.8m

Reaching out to the person will be like searching for gold.

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