You are just seconds away from sending money – the offer sounds perfect, the seller seems trustworthy and the clock is ticking.

But just before you hit send, one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, OPay flashes a critical warning: “Caution – this account has been linked to suspicious activity.”

In that moment, the rush fades, your instincts kick in, and you realise you were on the brink of falling for a scam. One smart alert, one timely pause — and your hard-earned money stays exactly where it should: safe.

This is the power behind OPay’s multi-layered scam alert system — an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven, real-time defense network designed to detect and stop fraudulent transactions before they happen.

At the heart of it is a machine learning engine trained on thousands of scam patterns, user reports, flagged accounts, and unusual transaction behaviors. But OPay’s approach goes far beyond a single alert.

Abnormal Transaction Pop-Up Reminders

When suspicious behavior is detected, OPay immediately interrupts the flow with a clear, targeted pop-up message. Every day, over 60,000 users receive these urgent fraud warnings — and thanks to that, 30,000 risky transactions are stopped in their tracks.

•      Intelligent Outbound Call Reminders

For higher-risk transactions, OPay activates a multi-channel response, sending warnings via SMS, email, app notifications, and even escalating to customer service calls. This proactive layer reaches more than 10,000 users daily, discouraging over 8,000 fraudulent transactions.

•      Interactive Q&A Verification

In cases where more context is needed, users are engaged with real-time Question & Answer (Q&A) prompts to understand the purpose of their transaction. If red flags are confirmed, the system presents a tailored warning or ends the transaction flow altogether. This feature alone helps deter over 46,000 scam attempts daily from the 50,000+ users who interact with it.

Together, these layers form a real-time scam detection and prevention engine that evolves with every user interaction. OPay’s system doesn’t just warn — it learns and adapts, constantly improving its accuracy and response time.

Many users don’t even know they’re in danger until OPay steps in. As one X user, @JAHS, shared: “OPay alerted me that I might be sending money to a scammer when I wanted to patronize an IG vendor. Stopped the transaction ASAP.”

These interventions are happening silently, daily – often before the user even suspects something is wrong.

OPay’s scam alert system is part of a broader philosophy: security is not just about technology – it’s about trust. From scam alerts to Face ID transaction verification, USSD instant account locking, the Large Transaction Shield, and automated callback alerts, every tool is designed to protect users in the moments they can’t predict.

As scams get more sophisticated, the future of financial safety depends on real-time prevention. And OPay isn’t waiting for fraud to happen — it’s stopping it in its tracks. Sometimes, the smartest financial decision you make… is the one OPay helped you avoid.

Ride-hailing drivers under the umbrella of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters, AUATON, have said that they will embark on strike action to demand improved working conditions for app-based transport workers.

Chairman of AUATON in Rivers, Omoruyi Amos, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday during a news conference in Port Harcourt, stating that the strike would commence on May 1.

According to him, members of the union, including Uber, Bolt, and InDrive drivers, were being exploited by the operators of the ride-hailing platforms.

Amos said the industrial action would also take place in major cities across Nigeria and the world.

“The global log-off movement, in which the AUATON chapter in Rivers State will fully participate, is aimed at demanding improved working conditions for app-based transport workers.

“This decision was reached during an emergency meeting of the Rivers State Administrative Council, SAC, of AUATON held on April 23,” he said.

AUATON chairman further stated that during the meeting, members unanimously agreed to log off from their Uber, Bolt, InDrive, and other ride-hailing applications in protest.

“As a union, we can no longer remain silent while our members continue to suffer under these unjust and unsustainable conditions,” he added.

He also announced that a rally would be held on May 1 to mark International Workers’ Day at the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Secretariat in Port Harcourt.

He urged members of the union to assemble at the secretariat to demonstrate solidarity and raise awareness for their cause.

“The rally will serve as both a protest and a call to the government, stakeholders, and the public to support the fight for justice and dignity in Nigeria’s rapidly growing app-based transport sector.

“This global action represents a united stand by drivers worldwide, declaring that enough is enough,” Amos concluded.

United States of America tech billionaire, Elon Musk has taken a swipe at transgender people, saying, ‘It is time for the virus mind to die.”

Elon Musk, who is the lead at the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump’s administration, made this known in a terse statement replying to a Behavioural Risk Surveillance Survey by the Centre for Disease Control on the rising percentage of US adults identifying as transgender.

According to the survey data released on X Sunday by a popular American author, John LeFerre, US adults identifying as transgender surged by year of birth.

The data means that adults identifying as transgender have been on a steady spike, especially those with birth dates from 1990 to 2005.

Reacting, Musk described the trend as a “woke mind virus in action.”

“Now, it is time for the mind virus to die,” he wrote on his X account.

His comments come after Trump’s administration showed a tough stance against transgender people since his second term inauguration in January 2025.

Recall that Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 banning biological men from women’s sports.

In a related development, on Wednesday last week, the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled that the definition of a woman under the country’s equality law refers to biological sex.

Ekwutosblog reports that the ruling had sparked transgender protests in parts of the UK.