The Central Bank of Nigeria has expressed worry about the rise in fake SWIFT message scams, advising Nigerians to be careful and use the correct procedures to track down missing funds.
In a press release from the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, the CBN revealed that it has received numerous complaints from private entities, individuals, law firms, and government agencies claiming they have not been credited with foreign currency funds sent to their accounts in Nigerian banks.
The CBN stated that many of these assertions rely on forged documents like SWIFT MT103 and SWIFT acknowledgment copies, which cannot be confirmed on the SWIFT platform.
The statement indicated that the SWIFT acknowledgement copy and SWIFT MT103 often provided by these claimants as proof of transfer to recipient banks in Nigeria cannot be trusted.
The bank emphasised the necessity of the sending customers launching a tracer through their bank to recover cash that did not appear in the beneficiary’s account, rather than immediately contacting the CBN or law enforcement officials.
The CBN explained its role in the financial ecosystem, emphasizing that it does not offer correspondent banking services to Nigerian banks for foreign payments or hold accounts for private businesses.
“The CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution,” the statement concluded.
