Lesson 7.2

Verify Payments Properly

Estimated time: 7 minutes

Payment verification protects:

the customer
the employee
the business

“I Have Sent It”

A customer saying:

“I have sent it.”

does not automatically mean the transaction has been confirmed.

Likewise, a screenshot may provide useful information, but it should not replace whatever confirmation process the business requires.

Why?

Digital information can sometimes be:

delayed
misunderstood
sent to the wrong account
incomplete
duplicated
altered
fraudulent

Nigeria’s cybersecurity authorities continue to warn about impersonation and social-engineering schemes designed to cause organizations to transfer funds, change payment details or perform unauthorized actions.

Scenario — The Urgent Supplier

You receive a WhatsApp message that appears to be from a regular supplier:

“Our bank has a problem today. Please send today’s ₦750,000 payment to this new account instead. Very urgent.”

What should you do?

Not:

“The profile picture is correct, so it must be them.”

Use the organization’s approved method to independently verify the change.

A significant change in:

bank account
payment destination
phone number
authorized contact
refund instruction

should not be accepted casually.

More Workplace Examples

Transfer screenshot

A customer shows a screenshot and asks to take the goods immediately.

Treat it as information to check, not final confirmation.

BETTER RESPONSE

Use the workplace’s approved verification method before marking payment confirmed or releasing goods.

Pending transfer

The customer’s screen shows that a transfer is pending.

BETTER RESPONSE

Explain that confirmation is still needed and follow the approved process for pending payments. Do not label it successful or accuse the customer of dishonesty.

A possible false alert

An employee receives a payment alert message that does not match the approved transaction record.

BETTER RESPONSE

Do not rely on the alert alone. Verify through the approved method and escalate the mismatch; do not improvise a technical investigation.

Duplicate payment confusion

A customer says they paid twice and requests one payment back.

BETTER RESPONSE

Ask the authorized person to reconcile the records using the approved method. Do not refund on the basis of two screenshots or assume a second payment exists.

Remember

Urgency is a reason to pay more attention—not less.