A customer of Guaranty Trust Bank, Stella Adepegba, has accused the bank of negligence after fraudsters allegedly stole N2.59m from two accounts belonging to her and her daughter within 24 days.
Adepegba, who spoke with The PUNCH on Monday, said the incidents occurred on 8 October and 1 November, 2026, with the perpetrators allegedly transferring funds without authorisation or security alerts.
She accused the bank of failing to refund the money despite repeated complaints.
According to her, the first incident involved her daughter, Victoria Adepegba, whose Child Saver’s Account was compromised on 8 October at about 8pm.
She said N2.507m was transferred through the NIBSS Instant Payment channel in four transactions, leaving less than N2,000 in the account.
She reported the incident at the bank’s Kubwa branch in Abuja on 9 October and was instructed to document the unauthorised transactions.
However, she alleged that the bank later sent an email attributing the transactions to compromised login credentials, an explanation she rejected.
Adepegba said another N80,000 was fraudulently transferred from her personal GTBank account on 1 November to a FairMoney account bearing the name Jamilu Ahmad, bringing the total loss to N2.587m.
“GTB could not explain how the hackers successfully stole my money despite changing my account’s log-in details after the attack on my daughter’s account. The bank must refund the stolen funds and go after those who masterminded the fraud,” she said.
She insisted that her mobile phone, SIM card and ATM card were in her possession during both incidents, adding that she neither disclosed her banking credentials nor received OTP requests.
“The implication of these targeted attacks on my bank accounts is that no customer’s funds are safe with GTB, and if anything happens, the bank will not accept responsibility or offer any succour whatsoever,” she lamented.
Reacting, the Chief Communication Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mrs Oyinade Adegite, said the incidents had been investigated and feedback provided to the customer.
She attributed the compromise to customer-side security vulnerabilities, saying fraudsters deploy sophisticated phishing techniques to obtain banking credentials.
“Immediately this came up, it was escalated and investigated, and feedback has been given,” she said.
Adegite explained that customers could unknowingly compromise their accounts by clicking malicious links that install malware capable of capturing sensitive information.
“Now, it’s a phishing link you might click on that sometimes would actually install malware on your phone,” she said.
She maintained that the bank had implemented necessary safeguards, including two-factor authentication, and insisted the compromise originated from the customer.
“All the measures the bank has to put in place for us, 2FA, everything was done. So, the compromise came clearly from the customer,” she stated.
She, however, expressed sympathy and said she would follow up on the second incident.
The allegations come amid regulatory scrutiny of Nigerian banks over consumer protection and compliance failures.
