Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has cautioned general public not to fall prey to a syndicated group on the prowl to swindle unsuspecting telecom consumers, by capitalising on the generosity of David Adedeji Adeleke, widely known as Davido.
According to a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the commission discovered this while undertaking online social listening.
The Nigerian-American music star, songwriter and producer recently announced he would donate 250 million naira to various orphanage homes across Nigeria.
Exploiting Davido’s benevolence, a group of scammers rolled out an advertorial titled “Davido Airtime and Data Giveaway”, which went viral, claiming that Davido is “giving out free five thousand nsiry Airtime and 10GB Internet data of All Networks” to celebrate his birthday.
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.
The statement therefore notes that this is a scam and warns telecom consumers to keep off advert or any similar bogus enticements pointing out that the adverts are social engineering rip-offs designed to get people’s MSISDN and other information that fraudsters can use to defraud unsuspecting telecom consumers and members of the public.
The MSISDN 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 GSM or other mobile networks.
It explains 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 notes that 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 fraud.
CHIOMA EZIKE
