OPay customers panic over alleged fraudulent withdrawals, company reacts

Some customers of fintech company, OPay were on Sunday thrown into panicky mode as a video of some people complaining about fraudulent withdrawals surfaced online.  

In the video, some agents of OPay stormed the Alender House Office of the company in the Alausa area of Ikeja, to protest what they described as unauthorized withdrawal from their accounts.

According to them, they had been experiencing frequent unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts and they had complained to the company, but nothing was being done.

They also said they had reported the matter to the police to help them in recovering their stolen money.  

• “Huge sums of money were unscrupulously taken away from our accounts. Balances of our accounts were removed, some were transferred to other banks, and some were used to purchase airtime, others were transferred to different OPay accounts that we do not have any dealings with,” a leader of the agents who spoke on camera stated.  

The video prompted many to be worried about the safety of their money in the digital bank. However, a check on the video shows that it first surfaced online in August 2021, which shows that the event was not recent.

OPay also on Sunday reacted to the video by saying it was old. 

Panick withdrawal 

However, the company’s clarification came too late for some customers who had out of panic withdrawn all their money from the fintech account to avoid falling victim.

Reacting to the company’s clarification on the video, a customer of OPay identified as Olanrewaju Abdulyekeen, said:  

• “I have been a victim of many scams recently, thank God I was able to move my money out of your account. Communication is key. Learn to communicate with your customers when you have issues or crises.” 

https://x.com/Abdyekeen_Bash/status/1708569585295724601?s=20  

Another customer of the bank posted a screenshot of his OPay account showing a balance of N1.48. “I have withdrawn all my money,” he said.  

https://x.com/MayorOlunuga15/status/1708561566419808592?s=20  

OPay’s reaction 

Assuring the customers that the platform is secure and their money safe, OPay in a statement released on Sunday, stated: 

• “Our attention has been drawn to a certain old video that resurfaced on some social media platforms regarding alleged fraudulent activities on some OPay Agent accounts. 
• “We wish to state that the allegations are dated and have been resolved in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders. We implore our customers and the general public to ignore and disregard the video and its content. We remain committed to protecting our users from any fraudulent activity or scam as customer data protection is our priority.”