The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed types of scams being adopted by fraudsters as Nigeria battles COVID-19.
EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade, in a statement on Monday, quoted Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, as appealing to Nigerians to ignore offers received on their phones or email addresses.
Magu explained that online links requesting personal information and bank details were fraudulent.
“These services included ‘Do-It-Yourself’ COVID-19 tests; subscription to either Netflix, Hulu, DSTV, Government Intervention/Grant of N30,000; and other tricky offers.
“Some are coming in the form of links that offer free data or requests for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and account details of their victims.
“They often assure victims that they will be credited with money, as part of the federal government’s palliatives to cushion the effects of the Stay At Home order”.
Magu added that many of the dubious messages require recipients to click and fill out an online survey and forward the same to ten Whatsapp users.
He said the messages are embedded with malwares and other malicious codes, which when clicked, steals and compromises mails, banking logins passwords, credit-related information and other critical data contained on the recipient’s devices.
Magu further advised the general public to immediately take some steps in protecting their data from theft.
These include not opening unsolicited e-mails and clicking only on those that are from known and trusted sources, while taking a closer look at URLs for spelling errors before clicking.
“In case of online financial transactions, you must cross-verify with the recipient before making the payment. Install and update Anti-virus on your devices.
“Do not divulge to anyone via telephone, e-mail, any personal information such as Passwords, PIN numbers, ATM Cards numbers etc,” he stressed.
The EFCC boss warned against bitcoin offers, business adverts and messages on Facebook and Whatsapp claiming to offer investment opportunities they have benefited from.
Magu advised citizens to report any fraudulent activity to the EFCC via its verified handle – @OfficialEFCC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or call the hotline: +234 8093322644.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had issued a similar advisory on cyber criminals trying to fleece Nigerians through the coronavirus crisis.
