The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians not to fall victim to a fraudulent message being spread by a fake website.
The commission, in a statement on Thursday, identified the fake website as (https://covid-19-fg-grant.blogspot.com/?=1).
NCC noted that the website is asking Nigerian citizens to apply for a free Internet bundle given by the Nigerian government in collaboration with NCC.
The website suspiciously asks Nigerians to apply for the free Internet by clicking a web link, which automatically takes them to a webpage with a dialogue box where they are expected to fill in their bio data and other demographics.
NCC in the statement which was signed by its spokesperson Henry Nkemadu said “neither the Nigerian government nor the Commission has issued such a message to Nigerian citizens.”
The Commission strongly advised Nigerian citizens and all telecom consumers to beware of the fraudulent, false and spurious claim, urging the general public to, “discountenance the falsehood which has gained traction by the rise in tempo of its circulation.”
“The message should be disregarded in its entirety. The said website is a sham and a total deception to dupe Nigerians of their hard-earned money, and to harness personal data for fraudulent purposes,” NCC added.
The Commission warned that Nigerians should be wary of the antics of cyber criminals, who will want to take advantage of this challenging period of COVID-19 pandemic, and the stay-at-home directive of the government to scam telecom consumers and the general public.