The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised Nigerians to be on alert to avoid being victims of cyber criminals taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis.
This was contained in a statement on Monday by CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okoroafor.
Explaining that the trend was not peculiar to Nigeria, Okorafor said criminals try to steal sensitive information or gain unauthorized access to computers or mobile devices using various techniques.
He stated that one of the cyber crime activities was phishing campaigns where the criminals sent out emails claiming to be from health bodies like the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control or the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Okoroafor added that the email might contain a link, which if clicked, steals login credentials or other confidential information from the victim’s computer or mobile device.
CBN listed other means as a relief package where criminals send messages via social media or emails asking people to click on links to register in order to get their relief packages from the government or other organisations.
He said that the criminals would simply use this to get confidential information from unwary victims.
The director noted that the relief package scams also come in the form of phone calls asking people to provide their banking details to receive relief packages.
The spokesman assured that the CBN would continue to safeguard Nigerian banking system and provide updates as they occur.
Meanwhile, banks have suspended cheque clearing in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states until the lockdown order is lifted.
