By Peter Egwuatu
Victims went to withdraw cash. Instead, they watched their life savings disappear, alert by alert while standing helplessly inside bank premises.
On a public-holiday evening in Lagos, a man struggled for over 15 minutes as an Automated Teller Machine, ATM, refused to eject his card.
By the time it did, it was no longer his. Within six minutes, more than N255,000 vanished from his account through multiple Point of Sale, POS withdrawals. Overnight, frantic attempts to block the account failed.
By morning, the damage had been done.
In another case, a customer said she raised the alarm immediately after her card went missing inside an ATM gallery.
Yet, her account was not blocked until the following day giving fraudsters enough time to completely drain it.
CCTV cameras offered no answers. Security operatives offered no help.
For Obinna Kalu, a third victim, the ordeal was even more devastating. While his ATM card remained trapped inside a bank machine, nearly N1.2 million was withdrawn in a single POS transaction.
By the time security personnel emerged and explanations were offered, his savings were gone.
These are not isolated incidents.
Findings by Sunday Vanguard reveal a disturbing pattern in which fraudsters exploit delayed response systems, weak surveillance, and alleged internal lapses to swap ATM cards and empty customers’ accounts often during weekends and public holidays when banks’ emergency channels are slow or unreachable.
As economic pressures deepen, victims say they are left to pay the price for institutional inertia, raising urgent questions about accountability, security, and consumer protection in Nigeria’s banking system.
Investigation by Sunday Vanguard shows that criminals deliberately target ATM galleries during periods when most banks’ account-blocking channels and customer service lines are slow or inactive.
In some cases, security personnel at banking premises are alleged to connive with fraudsters, leaving customers vulnerable.
A victim narrates ordeal
One victim, Mrs John Onwuka, narrated how her husband fell prey to the scheme on a Sunday evening during a public holiday.
Her words: “I gave my ATM card to my husband to withdraw money. He went to an ATM gallery along Egbeda–Ikotun Road, in Lagos State, after several machines failed to dispense cash.
“When he inserted his card, the machine did not eject it for over 15 minutes despite pressing the cancel button repeatedly.
“While he struggled, a man posing as a helpful customer claimed another ATM was working and stood nearby. “Moments later, the card was released”.
Unknown to the victim, the fraudster had swapped the card during the distraction.
“My husband proceeded to the next ATM to complete his transaction, not knowing his card had been exchanged.
“Another accomplice stood behind him, monitoring the PIN entries. Within minutes, debit alerts began to drop in rapid succession.”
The victim said she received three alerts within six minutes: N200, 000 at 7:44 pm, N15, 000 at 7:48 pm and N40, 000 at 7:50 pm.
The transactions, she noted, were routed through a POS channel identified as Opay Digital Services.
Alarmed, she tried repeatedly through the night to block the account using available options but was unsuccessful. By early Monday morning, she rushed to the bank to lodge a complaint and request an immediate block.
She said the bank initially delayed action, insisting on waiting for a Customer Service Officer.
After persistent pressure, the account was eventually blocked hours later.
CCTV footage
Requests to immediately review CCTV footage to identify the culprits were also delayed.
The victim alleged that bank officials later claimed the ATM camera footage around the time of the incident was unclear, raising further concerns about security and accountability.
Experts warn that ATM card swap fraud is on the rise, particularly during periods when banks’ rapid-response mechanisms are weak.
They advise customers to be vigilant, shield their Private Identification Numbers, PINs, avoid accepting help from strangers at ATMs, and promptly reporting any irregularities through multiple channels.
As economic pressures deepen, fraudsters are becoming more daring leaving customers to pay the price for gaps in security and slow institutional response.
‘How my ATM card caused me to lose money’
Another victim, Mrs. Mabel Uba , also recounted how money was withdrawn from her account after her ATM card went missing.
She said the incident happened on January 11, 2025, after she attempted to withdraw cash from an ATM.
“I later discovered that my ATM card was no longer with me. Shortly after, I began receiving debit alerts. I ignored the first message, thinking it was an error, but more alerts followed within minutes,” the victim narrated.
By the time she contacted her bank, she said a substantial amount had already been withdrawn.
She described the experience as traumatic, adding that the funds taken represented her hard-earned savings.
Both victims called on banks and regulators to urgently review ATM security architecture, including stricter monitoring of ATM galleries, faster response time to customer complaints, and improved surveillance.
They urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to compel banks to strengthen internal controls, deploy functional CCTV systems, and ensure security personnel are properly trained to prevent ATM-related crimes.
According to them, unless urgent measures are taken, unsuspecting customers will continue to fall prey to fraudsters exploiting weak security and delayed response by banks.
Kalu said: “At about 1:33 pm, I used the ATM on the left side to transfer N20, 000 to GTBank and another N20, 000 to Access Bank.
“After that, I attempted to withdraw N20, 000 from the same machine, but it displayed ‘temporarily unable to dispense.’”
Kalu said he moved to the second ATM the only other machine available but after inserting his card, neither cash nor his card was released.
“I waited patiently, but the card remained stuck,” he said, adding that the machines had stopped dispensing cash, though customers were still making transfers.
While expressing frustration, two young men approached.
“One of them said it was a network issue,” Kalu recalled.
“He followed me to the ATM while my card was still inside, pressed a key and asked me to enter my PIN. I did, but nothing changed. He then walked away.”
A woman and her husband later advised him that the machine might have seized his card and suggested he returned on Monday.
To test the ATM, the woman inserted her own card, which was accepted and returned after she pressed the ‘End’ key.
“That made me refuse to leave,” Kalu said.
Disaster
Minutes later, disaster struck.
“At 1:47 pm, I received a POS debit alert of N1,197, 000”, he said.
“That was when I saw two security men coming out from the back of the bank.”
After reporting to the police and returning to the bank, Kalu said staff members suggested a man he had earlier complained to may have taken his card.
“That is impossible,” he insisted.
“When the man approached me, my card was already trapped in the machine. No one removed it.”
He questioned the bank’s handling of the incident, especially claims that his card was no longer in the ATM when it was later checked.
In conclusion, for victims of ATM card-swap fraud, the pain goes far beyond the money lost.
It is the feeling of abandonment of watching savings disappear in real time while help remains unreachable that leaves the deepest scars.
Many of those affected say the crime did not happen in dark alleys but within bank premises, under the watch of security personnel and surveillance systems that failed when they mattered most.
The recurring pattern is troubling: cards trapped in machines, strangers offering “help,” rapid withdrawals through POS channels, and delayed account-blocking that gives fraudsters a free window to operate.
In several cases, victims reported the incidents immediately, yet decisive action came hours later, if at all. By then, the accounts had already been emptied.
Experts warn that unless banks overhaul their ATM security architecture, deploying functional CCTV systems, enforcing stricter access control in ATM galleries, and ensuring 24-hour rapid-response channels card-swap fraud will continue to thrive.
Customers, they argue, cannot be left to battle organised criminals alone while institutional safeguards lag behind evolving tactics.
The CBN faces mounting pressure to compel banks to close these gaps, enforce accountability, and prioritise consumer protection over procedural delays.
For now, victims are left counting their losses and nursing broken trust, a reminder that in Nigeria’s electronic banking system, a few minutes of delay can mean a lifetime of regret.
Until urgent reforms are implemented, the ATM meant to offer convenience will remain a hunting ground for fraudsters, and a place where ordinary Nigerians go to withdraw cash, only to lose everything.
The post Inside Nigeria’s rising ATM card swap fraud, missing cards appeared first on Vanguard News.
