Fake UBA 'verify your identity' texts point Nigerians to lookalike phishing site ubagroupid.com
FIJ reported on 31 October 2026 that fake texts pretending to be from UBA tell Nigerians to “verify” within 24 hours at ubagroupid.com, a lookalike of UBA's real site created in October 2026. UBA is not involved.
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Source: fij.ng · published
What happened
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) in Nigeria reported on 31 October 2026 that people pretending to be affiliated with United Bank for Africa (UBA) have been sending suspicious text messages to Nigerians for at least two weeks, apparently to steal their details. The message FIJ saw reads: “We noticed an issue with your account transactions. Kindly verify your identity within 24 hours to avoid full restriction on your account.” It then gives a link, https://ubagroupid.com/Nigeria. UBA is not involved: the link is not UBA's website. At the time of publication, FIJ said the bank had not yet issued a statement about the messages.
How the scam works
The link was made to resemble UBA's official web address, which is www.ubagroup.com. The fake adds the letters “id” to the name, a small change that is easy to miss on a phone. The text creates urgency with a 24-hour deadline and the threat of a restricted account, a typical pressure tactic, and invites the recipient to “verify” their identity on the linked site. FIJ's source, who had a dormant account, said they knew something was wrong because they had not used the account for some time. FIJ did not report what the site asks for after the link is opened, but pages of this kind are built to collect banking details, card numbers, one-time codes or login credentials.
FIJ checked the domain on WHOIS, a public directory of domain registration records. It found that ubagroupid.com was created in October 2026, while UBA's real site, ubagroup.com, was created in 2001. A very new domain imitating an established bank is a strong sign of fraud, as banks keep the same web addresses for years and do not usually ask customers to verify their identity through a link in a text message.
FIJ noted that it has raised alerts about similar fake bank sites before.
Source
Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), “ALERT: Cybercriminals Phishing for UBA Customers' Details Through Fake Website”, Emmanuel Uti, 31 October 2026.
Red flags
- A text claiming a problem with your account transactions and demanding you verify your identity within 24 hours.
- A threat of “full restriction” on your account if you do not act.
- A link to ubagroupid.com, which looks like UBA's real address ubagroup.com but has extra letters.
- A very recently registered domain imitating a bank that has existed for decades.
- A message that asks you to verify your identity through a link instead of your bank's app or branch.
If you were targeted
- 1Do not tap the link or enter any details on ubagroupid.com.
- 2Check your account through the official UBA app or by typing www.ubagroup.com yourself, or call the number on your card.
- 3If you entered banking details or codes, call UBA at once, block your cards and change your passwords and PIN.
- 4Never share one-time passwords, PINs or BVN details in response to a text.
- 5Forward or report suspicious messages to your bank and block the sender.