If your phone or wallet is stolen, it is always necessary that you temporarily block your bank account, ATM Card and Sim Card.
This is to avoid strangers and online fraudsters from having access to your bank account in Nigeria as well as contacts.
Banks in Nigeria deliberately made temporary blocking of bank accounts easy and simple to save customers from loosing their money in the case of emergencies like stolen phone and ATM cards.
Also, blocking of SIM cards by telecommunication network providers takes just few minutes if a customer has initiated so especially if their phones are stolen.
When your mobile phone number is linked to your bank account, one can stand a chance of having his bank account accessed when they loose their phone and failed to block their bank accounts or SIM card.
So, in this post, how to block bank account if your phone is stolen will be discussed.
This will help those in distress over stolen phone or ATM card know what to do to block their bank account and avoid loosing their money to criminals.
How To Block Your Bank Account
In this section of the article, we will be speaking on how to block your bank account instantly and fast.
There are three (3) major ways of temporarily blocking your bank account.
These ways of blocking bank account is dependent on the situation one finds him/herself.
Here is how to block your bank account especially if your phone is stolen.
Visit Nearest Branch of Your Bank
If your phone is stolen and your number is linked to your account, then it is necessary that your temporarily block your bank account to avoid access by strangers.
One of the best ways to do this is to visit the nearest branch of your bank and ask the customer service representative to have your account restricted or blocked.
You will be required to fill out a very short form to confirm that such order emanated from the customer.
By blocking the bank account temporarily, the bank places “post no debit” on the bank account.
This means the bank account can receive money but money cannot be withdrawn from the bank account.
This is one of the major ways to block your bank account in Nigeria.
Contact Online Customer Service Support
Every bank in Nigeria has an online contact center for its customers.
This online contact centers handle emergencies from customers and this includes customers who wants to block their bank account in case of stolen phone or wallet.
Bank account can also be block by simply sending a mail or calling the bank’s online contact center and requesting for a post no debit restriction.
Many people might ask how can I get my bank phone number or email address.
This can be gotten by simply using a google search engine.
So, you can either call your bank call center or send an email to their official email address and requesting that your bank account be block temporarily and also provide reason for such an action.
This good thing about this option of blocking bank account is the the service is open 24/7.
Use of Banks Special Codes for Blocking Bank Accounts
In a bid to facilitate fast and easy restrictions of bank accounts, different banks in Nigeria has special codes that can be used to temporarily block bank account in Nigeria fast in case of your phone is stolen.
This is another way of blocking your bank account in Nigeria especially if your phone is stolen.
Here are codes and USSD for blocking bank account in Nigeria for different banks.
First Bank Blocking Code – Send ” BLOCK” to 30012 via sms
GTBank Blocking Code – *737*51*10#
Zenith Bank Blocking Code – #966*911#
UBA Blocking Code – *919*10#
Fidelity Bank Blocking Code- *770911#
Access Bank- Call +23412802500
Union Bank Blocking Code- sms “BLOCK CARD NUBAN” to 20123
Wema Bank – Call 08039003700
FCMB – Call + 2342798800
Sterling Bank- Call 070078378464
These are some codes and numbers for blocking bank accounts in Nigeria depending on the bank.
How To Block ATM Card in Nigeria
Once a bank account has been temporarily blocked or restricted, with post no debit order, no withdrawal even ATM card withdrawals cannot be carried out on the account.
However, ATM Card can be block when it is stolen without blocking the bank account.
So, you can block your ATM card in Nigeria by visit any branch of your bank or contacting your bank’s call center or online customer’s support.
Also, another fast way blocking ATM card is to send a mail to the official email address of the bank for receiving complaints.
These are some of the ways of blocking ATM cards in Nigeria especially when they are stolen.
How To Block Your Sim Card in Nigeria
It is important to have your Sim card temporarily blocked when they are stolen pending when a welcome back has been carried out.
This is usually necessary when your phone number is linked to your bank account.
Also, it is important to avoid intruding into your privacy and carrying out a scam using the mobile phone line.
There are two major ways of temporarily blocking a Sim card.
Visit Any Branch Office of Your Network Provider
By this we mean visiting any branch office of your network provider within your locality is one of the ways of blocking your simcard.
Here at the office, you will fill out a short form with your signature confirming that the restriction order came the customer.
Call Customer Service Center of Your Network Provider
This is one of fastest and easy way of blocking a SIM card in Nigeria.
By calling your network call center and answering some KYC questions, like name, address, last recharge amount etc, one can have his SIM card block in few minutes.
These are ways blocking SIM card in Nigeria.
