A Nigerian woman based in Canada has cried out on social media after allegedly losing money from her bank account through a series of suspicious transactions linked to her mobile number.
According to the woman, she woke up in the morning to multiple debit alerts from her Access Bank account, only to discover that money was being transferred out in repeated transactions of ₦20,000 each. She explained that the transfers were allegedly carried out using the bank’s *901# USSD service.
Sharing her painful experience, she said:
“This morning, I woke up to a series of debit alerts from Access Bank. I opened my app and found out money was actively being transferred out of my account, 20,000 for each transaction. They were using the 901 code.”
The incident has since sparked conversations online, with many Nigerians expressing concern over the safety of mobile banking and SIM-linked financial services.
Bank and Telecom Provider Allegedly Shift Responsibility
The woman further explained that her mother-in-law visited the bank on her behalf to seek clarification and possibly stop the ongoing withdrawals. However, she claimed the bank informed them that her mobile service provider had allegedly reassigned her phone number to another individual.
According to her narration, they later visited an MTN office, where they were allegedly told that the number had indeed been sold to someone else. MTN reportedly maintained that whoever gained access to the account would still have required a PIN to authorize the transactions.
She said:
“My mother-in-law went to the bank, and they told her my service provider sold the number to someone else. We went to MTN, and they said they sold the number, but the person would have needed a PIN to transfer money from the account, so we should go back to the bank. Now the bank is saying there’s nothing they can do.”
The situation has left the woman devastated as she continues to seek help and answers regarding the missing funds.
Rising Concerns Over SIM Recycling and USSD Banking
The story has reignited concerns about SIM recycling in Nigeria and the risks associated with linking phone numbers to sensitive financial accounts. Telecommunications companies sometimes reassign inactive numbers to new users after long periods of inactivity. However, many social media users believe stronger security measures should exist to prevent unauthorized access to bank accounts tied to old numbers.
Cybersecurity experts have repeatedly advised customers to update their bank records whenever they lose access to a phone number or relocate abroad for long periods. They also recommend disabling USSD banking services on unused numbers and ensuring that banking apps are protected with additional authentication methods.
Social Media Reactions Trail Incident
Following the viral post, many Nigerians flooded the comment section with mixed reactions. While some blamed the bank and telecom provider for poor security coordination, others argued that personal banking details such as PINs should never be accessible to third parties unless previously compromised.
Others also used the opportunity to warn people living abroad to regularly monitor accounts linked to Nigerian phone numbers, especially numbers that may become inactive over time.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Access Bank nor MTN had publicly released an official statement regarding the woman’s allegations.
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