Fraud: How Abuja Man Lost Life Savings in Piggyvest Account
Oluwafemi Tomori, a data analyst in Abuja, received the shock of his life on March 16, when he realised his life savings had disappeared from his Piggyvest account.
He said the unfortunate situation made him so miserable that he resorted to squatting with a friend.
Narrating his unpleasant experience, Tomori said he received a notification from the Gmail app that he transferred N807,000 to another account on March 16.
He was shocked because an hour earlier, he transferred N200,000 from his account, and the recipient had yet to receive the money at the time he stumbled upon the grim notification.
He immediately called Piggyvest customer care to inform them that an unauthorised transaction had taken place on his account, and the bank gave him a sparkle of hope by telling him the transaction was pending.
“I also tagged everyone on Twitter to help out. Meanwhile, the N200,000 I transferred myself had not been received. So, I concluded that they probably stopped all funds coming out of my account,” Tomori told FIJ.
READ MORE: Shock as Customer Loses N350,000 To Fraudster In Banking Hall
“At exactly 12.40 am on March 17, I got the alert of the N200,000. So, I called to apprise Piggyvest of the status of the N200,000 while I asked about the N807,000 I didn’t authorise.
“They assured me, just as they did my friend who went to their office in Lagos, that the funds were still pending and they had flagged the account already.”
Tomori said Piggyvest contacted him on Tuesday to brief him that the account of the beneficiary, the hacker responsible for the unauthorised transaction, had been flagged and was under investigation.
He said he woke up to the bank’s email on Wednesday to learn that scammer had utilised the N807,000.
“How is it possible that the account Piggyvest claimed was flagged from the first day used the N807,000? This means Piggyvest has been lying to me from the first day,” he said.
“That is my entire savings, N807,000. I have been sleeping in a friend’s house since Thursday, and he has been the one feeding me.
“They have an insider running this, and they seem to be aware, but knowing we have no justice system, they are sure they will get away with this.”
When Piggyvest was contacted for their comments via email, we only got an automated message: “Your email is currently receiving the necessary attention, and you’ll receive a response within 24 working hours.”
