‘They withdrew all I was worth’
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Author | Oludayo Tade,Oluwatosin Adeniyi |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758017704330 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
‘They withdrew all I was
worth’: Automated teller
machine fraud and victims’
life chances in Nigeria
Oludayo Tade
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Oluwatosin Adeniyi
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstract
A major downside of the cashless policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2014 is
pervasive automated teller machine (ATM) frauds. While fraudsters gain, the life chances of victims
are affected. Previous studies in Nigeria had not investigated the effect of ATM frauds on victims’
life chances. Data were generated through in-depth interviews with victims of ATM fraud. Findings
show victims suffered post fraud trauma and often depended on friends, parents and relatives to
survive the trauma. The reaction of banks to customers’ victimization was unfavorable and
unhelpful in compensating the financial losses of customers. We recommend better internal
controls for banks and implementation of mechanisms to govern trust and protect customers from
victimization.
Keywords
Cashless policy, life chances, victimology, fraud, Nigeria
Introduction
A major snag of the cashless policy in the Nigerian banking industry and payment systems is fraud.
Since July 2014, when the policy became fully operational, the frau d landscape has widened
through electronic transactions. Van Dijk and Kunst (2010) define e-fraud as cheating for financial
gain of people making transactions on the internet. Wopperer (2002: 384) avers that many risks are
Corresponding author:
Dr Oludayo Tade, Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Email: dotad2003@yahoo.com
International Review of Victimology
2017, Vol. 23(3) 313–324
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758017704330
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