PalmPay offers financial security tips for the holiday season

As the holidays approach, scammers are on the prowl, using questionable shopping websites and posing as customer support agents from legitimate companies on social media platforms, hoping to steal your personal information.

The report says that while online scammer activity is becoming more sophisticated and may spike during the holiday season, other types of scams that scammers are more likely to use to trick users include: , digital loan scams, one-time password (OTP) scams, and giveaway scams. Campaign scams, free gift and coupon scams, etc.

Apart from the security measures put in place by companies like banks, fintechs and online shopping stores, you also have a responsibility to take your own safety precautions when making financial transactions this holiday season.

Here are five simple safety tips to protect yourself from scammers this holiday.

Shop from safe retailers

Shoppers this holiday season will see an increase in shady shopping websites. Some websites offer ridiculous discounts to trick unsuspecting shoppers into entering their debit card details, which can then be stolen by scammers.

Don’t shop at online retailers you don’t trust or have never used before. It doesn’t matter if you are offering the biggest discount or not. Plus, if the discounts they’re offering look too good to be true, that’s probably because they aren’t.

Shop using safe, seamless and verified online websites or payment apps. Payment apps like PalmPay integrate with a variety of business stores and make paying your bills and utilities secure and easy.

Use only trusted POS machines

Whether you’re withdrawing cash or making a payment using a point of sale (POS) to spend this holiday season, handle it with care and only use POS agents with terminals from trusted fintech brands. It is a good idea to do so.

When using a POS agent, always remain vigilant and watch out for fraudulent activity. To prevent your card details from being stolen, hide your card details and avoid entering your personal identification number (PIN) in the presence of others.

Using a POS terminal from a reputable fintech company cannot be overemphasized. To facilitate transactions, we use POS terminals that offer an excellent network, a reliable system with a failure rate of less than 1%, the option to know the bank’s network updates in real time, and fast customer dispute resolution 24/7. please.

Be wary of unsolicited phone calls, emails, and text messages

Expect to receive several unsolicited phone calls, emails, and text messages from scammers claiming to be from companies you know. Some of these calls, emails, and text messages may claim to have earned discounts or holiday offers from reputable companies and ask you to pay some money to take advantage of the discounts or offers.

Don’t be fooled by this trick. Legitimate companies will never ask you to pay money to take advantage of a giveaway promotion or ask you to submit sensitive banking information to grant access to a discount. be careful! PalmPay staff and agents will never call or text you to solicit money or confidential information in exchange for a coupon or discount.

Research discounts and giveaways

This is one of the next most important safety tips and should be applied at all times during this holiday season and beyond. Always research discounts and giveaways offered by trusted brands.

Visit the brand’s official social media accounts and website to find out about ongoing giveaway promotions during the holidays. Discount and benefit challenges that are not communicated to the public through a legitimate company’s official social media channels should be considered carefully.

Any discounts or offers offered by PalmPay are usually posted on the company’s social media pages. Follow the right handles on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, LinkedIn and always look out for the verified check mark.

Avoid fraudulent fintech apps

Don’t provide personal or bank account information to fintech platforms you don’t trust. It is important to reiterate this safety warning. Don’t download fintech apps that aren’t regulated by the government.

Any loan or fintech app that is not regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and whose deposits are not insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) should be avoided completely. Before you download a fintech or loan app, research whether it proudly displays the CBN and NDIC badges.

In addition to being regulated by the CBN and insured by the NDIC, PalmPay ensures that our more than 30 million users and 1.1 million businesses that are part of our payments ecosystem are safe from fraudsters. We make every effort to guarantee this. Follow our social media handles to stay updated on safety guidelines.

Source: dailypost.ng