TheCable

First Bank has asked its customers to avoid storing bank and personal details on their mobile devices.

The bank issued the warning in a disclaimer addressed to debunk claims by fraudsters on the ease of accessing First Bank accounts.

The commercial bank said fraudsters leverage on details such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, Personal Identity Numbers (PINs), account numbers, email passwords and other classified information to carry out the illicit activities.

It urged customers to avoid storing such information on mobile devices, adding that previous numbers linked to bank account should be delinked for security reasons.

“Our attention has been drawn to the arrest of a gang of cybercriminals who specialise in stealing SIM cards to gain unauthorised access to the personal and banking details of their victims in order to carry out illicit transactions on their bank accounts,” the statement reads.

“The claims by the suspect on the ease of accessing FirstBank accounts are baseless and untrue as the Bank’s robust electronic banking infrastructure has been essential to ensuring the security of our customers’ accounts, irrespective of where they are across the world.

“Please avoid storing your bank and personal details such as ATM card PINs, account numbers, email passwords and other classified information on your mobile devices as these serve as sources of information used for the electronic compromise of bank accounts.

“We advise our customers to promptly inform the Bank to delink any inactive phone numbers previously mapped to their accounts. In today’s global village, driven by electronic banking and business activities, it remains our collective responsibility to combat the menace of cyber-fraud.

“We remain committed to expanding our electronic banking architecture towards the continued safety of the bank accounts of all our customers, whilst also ensuring your ease and convenience of carrying out all transactions, irrespective of where you are across the globe.”