Last year, people lost $12.5 billion to fraud globally. That is not a number buried in a footnote, it is the FTC’s official 2024 figure, and it marks a 25% jump from the year before. The most alarming detail? Bank transfers and payments drove more losses than any other payment method combined. Transfer scams have moved far beyond the “Nigerian prince” email. The schemes that catch people today arrive through WhatsApp, LinkedIn, dating apps, and emails designed to look exactly like messages from your own bank. The urgency is engineered. The story always makes sense, until it doesn’t. And by the time most people realise what happened, the money is already gone.
In Nigeria, digital payment fraud reached N52.26 billion in 2024, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. The risk is real, local, and growing.
Here are the five most common money transfer scams in circulation right now and how to protect yourself from each one.
What are money transfer scams?
Money transfer scams are fraud schemes designed to trick you into sending money under false pretences. What makes transfer scams particularly dangerous is that they rarely look like scams at first glance. They look like opportunities, emergencies, or routine transactions. By the time the deception becomes obvious, the funds have already left your account and are nearly impossible to retrieve.
1. Impersonation Scams
Impersonation transfer scams are one of the fastest-growing fraud categories worldwide. In 2024, imposter fraud cost consumers $2.95 billion in reported losses alone.
Here is how this fraud works: a scammer contacts you pretending to be your bank, a government agency, or a fintech platform. They claim there is a problem with your account, a suspicious transaction, an urgent verification, a freeze that needs lifting. To fix it, they instruct you to move funds to a “safe account” or provide your login details. The sender name, logo, and tone all look completely legitimate.
How to protect yourself:
- Your bank or fintech will never ask you to transfer money to resolve an account issue
- Call the official number on the company’s website to verify unexpected contact, not a number inside the message
- Turn on transaction notifications so you catch unauthorised activity the moment it happens
2. Overpayment Scams
Overpayment transfer scams tend to target freelancers, online sellers, and small business owners. The setup: a “buyer” sends more money than agreed, then apologises and asks you to refund the difference via a transfer. But the original payment is fake. Once the bank reverses it, you have already sent real money out of your own account and often lost the product or service too.
These schemes work precisely because the buyer seems cooperative and the request sounds completely reasonable.
How to protect yourself:
- Never refund a payment difference before the original transaction fully clears with your bank
- Treat unexpected overpayments as a red flag. Legitimate buyers rarely make this kind of “mistake”
- Avoid accepting cheques or money orders from buyers you cannot independently verify
3. Romance Scams
Romance transfer scams are among the most emotionally damaging forms of fraud. A scammer builds a convincing online relationship over weeks or months, often using a stolen identity and photos. Once emotional trust is established, the money requests begin, small at first, then larger, always attached to a compelling story: a medical emergency, a stuck payment, travel costs to come and visit.
According to the FTC, people who lost money to fraud in 2024 were most often reached through social media, the exact environment where romance transfer scams flourish.
How to protect yourself:
- Never send money to someone you have not met in person, no matter how long you have been talking online
- Reverse-image-search their profile photos to check whether the identity is real
- If an online contact starts requesting money transfers, speak to someone you trust before doing anything
4. Advance Fee Scams
Advance fee transfer scams promise something valuable, a prize, a loan, an inheritance, a lucrative contract but require an upfront fee before you can receive it. Once you pay, new charges appear. The reward never materialises.
Americans lost over $500 million to advance fee schemes over five years, with the average individual loss climbing from $6,000 in 2020 to $14,000 by 2024. These transfer scams endure because the promised reward always feels just one more payment away.
How to protect yourself:
- Legitimate lenders, employers, and prize organisers never require upfront transfers
- If an offer asks you to pay money before you receive money, walk away
- Research any company or individual thoroughly before making any financial commitment
5. Fake Job Transfer Scams
Fake job transfer scams have grown sharply in recent years. The FTC found that job scam losses jumped from $90 million in 2020 to $501 million by 2024, nearly a six-fold increase. The approach is consistent: an unsolicited message on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, or Telegram with a job offer promising high pay for simple work. Once the target engages, the “employer” requests a transfer for equipment, a background check, or a security deposit. The job vanishes the moment the money moves.
How to protect yourself:
- Legitimate employers never ask new hires to make transfers as part of onboarding
- Verify the company independently through official channels before sharing any financial information
- Be sceptical of any unsolicited job offer that promises unusually high pay for minimal effort
General Rules to Stay Safe
A few consistent habits will protect you from transfer scams regardless of the specific tactic:
- Slow down. Nearly every transfer scam engineers urgency. Pressure to act immediately is the clearest warning sign.
- Verify independently. Never use contact information from inside a suspicious message. Find the official details yourself.
- Think before you send. Bank transfers are hard to reverse once processed. Take your time.
- Report what you see. In Nigeria, report fraud to the EFCC or your financial provider directly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Transfer Scams
1. What are money transfer scams?
Money transfer scams are fraud schemes that trick victims into sending money under false pretences. The most common types include impersonation fraud, overpayment schemes, romance fraud, advance fee fraud, and fake job offers.
2. How do I recognise a money transfer scam?
The key warning signs are unsolicited contact claiming to be your bank, upfront payment requests, and pressure to act without time to verify anything.
3. Can I recover money after a transfer scam?
Recovery is very difficult once a bank transfer is processed. Report the incident immediately to your bank, the EFCC, and local authorities to support any investigation.
4. Are transfer scams common in Nigeria?
Yes. Digital payment fraud in Nigeria reached N52.26 billion in 2024, according to NIBSS data. Fraudsters increasingly reach victims through social media and messaging apps.
5. Where do I report a transfer scam in Nigeria?
Report to the EFCC through their official website, or contact your bank or fintech provider immediately to freeze the transaction and file a complaint.
Protect Your Money With Cleva
Understanding transfer scams is the first step. The second is choosing a platform that keeps your money secure.
Cleva is a USD account built for Nigerians who send and receive international payments. Every transaction runs through a verified, regulated system, protecting your finances from the risks that come with unverified platforms and informal channels. Cleva also monitors for suspicious activity in real time, giving you an extra layer of protection against fraud.
If you are not yet on Cleva, now is a great time to start. Sign up on Cleva today and manage your USD payments on a platform that takes your security seriously.
Because the best protection against transfer scams starts with where you choose to move your money.
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