The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned subscribers over a syndicated group’s ploy to swindle unsuspecting members of the public, particularly millions of Nigerian telecom consumers, by capitalising on the generosity of David Adedeji Adeleke, widely known as Davido.
Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde Director, Public Affairs at NCC,conveyed the warning in a statement.
The agency said: “The Nigerian-American music, songwriter and producer recently announced he would donate 250 million naira to various orphanage homes across Nigeria. In the advertorial, the general public is urged to hurry and get the gift by clicking on the links that supposedly redirect them to network sites, where they will be credited with airtime and data. This is a scam.”
The agency advised teeming telecom consumers in Nigeria to ignore have n the advert or any similar bogus enticements.
It said,the adverts, “are what they are – social engineering rip-offs designed to get people’s MSISDN and other information that fraudsters can use later to defraud unsuspecting telecom consumers and members of the public.For clarity, the MSISDN, meaning Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network, is simply the full phone number of a cellphone, in addition to other protocol information. This number is unique and identifies subscribers/owners in a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or other mobile networks.
” Therefore, it suffices to state that any unscrupulous person or unethical hacker can use the number and attendant protocol to undermine the privacy of the real owners of the number through identity theft and other scams”
The commission said it will not rest on its oars in empowering telecom consumers with the requisite information and education in order to protect them from cybercriminals determined to use the telecom platforms to perpetrate frauds.
