Cyberfraud: Group inaugurates intensive media sensitisation

A Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Industry (CICISONFI) on Thursday kicked-off an intensive media campaign to sensitise Nigerians on ways to prevent cyberfraud.

CICISONFI in partnership with media and social media influencers such as The Hook and Cybersafe Foundation presented the campaign tagged “NoGoFallMagaConFamAmAgainCampaign”.

The campaign was presented at a media parley at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotels, Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, Lagos.

It was reported that the media parley was organised by CICISONFI in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers Committee.

It had in attendance various stakeholders from across the banking, technology and media industries among others in attendance.

The Chairman of CICISONFI, Mr Festus Amede, in his address, decried the great negative impact cyber fraud had on the lives and livelihood of the casualties.

Amede said that the economy of individuals, corporate organisations, governments and other victims of cyberfraud had been greatly affected by the menace.

He added that this had necessitated the awareness campaign to discourage the trend.

“We are embarking on this journey because of the embarrassing situations many victims of cyberfraud have been made to pass through.

“Fortunately, these crimes can be prevented by being well-informed and aware.

“No one is immune to this situation, but with awareness, cases of cybercrime can be reduced to the barest minimum level.

“We are embarking on a journey to creating awareness across Nigeria.

“The campaign will be done using Radio and Television jingles, social media campaigns and advertisements in the three major Nigerian languages – Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo as well as in Pidgin English.

“We have been on this journey for some months now, working to ensure that this campaign is fruitful and we achieve good results,” he said.

Amede told NAN, on the sidelines of the event, that customers should be wary of conversation with unknown individuals who might be asking for sensitive and private information about their bank details.

“People should be wary of conversation with unknown callers, once such caller is asking for bank details, there is a need to cross-check and on no account should customers give out their bank PIN.

“When conversation with unknown caller is getting to personal details, such calls should be discontinued or paused to double-check before it crosses the line.

“The impact of cyber security is huge, and we have seen so many attacks that are actually preventable through proper awareness and this is what necessitated this campaign.

“Many people have been defrauded of their pensions because they gave out their bank’s OTP, which should not be released to any third party under any condition.

“Even banks don’t have the authority to request for their customers’ OTP,” he said.

Contributing, the Group Chief Information Security Officer (GCISO), First Bank, Mr Harrison Nnaji, said that the PIN was an exclusive property of the bank customers.

He noted that even banks do not have access to their customers’ respective PIN.

“I want to correct a misguided notion, banks don’t have access to some information of their customers especially, the PIN generated by the customer.

“What banks have as details is just an encrypted message about the card and not the PIN. Customers’ PIN numbers are not domiciled in the bank or with any of its officials.

“At no point should customers release their PIN to a third party, not even any bank officials during conversation because they have no need for it. The same goes for the OTP as well.

“Also, the 16-digit numbers on the ATM cards should be kept confidential because it can be compromised if known.

“And if anyone feels that his account has been compromised through the ATM Card, such card should be replaced immediately,” Nnaji said.

A member of the Board of CICISONFI, Mrs Favour Femi-Oyewole, urged customers to be sure of those they related with under the guise of Customer Relations Officer.

“Our people should be wary of those that they are making their complaints to under the guise of Customer Relations and know the type of information they are divulging.

“People should also be careful about the site at which they want to initiate transactions, and be sure that they are dealing with the right source.

“Nowadays, scammers create lookalike sites, which unsuspecting victims may want to deal with. I have once had someone who fell for such before.

“Everybody should be careful because no one is immune to these cyberfraud that has made people to lose their hard-earned money,” Femi-Oyewole said.

Also, Dr Peter Obadare, Chairman, Advisory Board, Cybersafe Foundation, urged people not to be in a hurry to seal deals online.

“All these fraud can be minimised if people can be patient enough when trying to strike a deal online with whoever.

“There are many fraudsters, who are waiting to scam people, but there is something that they don’t have and that is sufficient patience for the would-be victim to cross-check them,” Obadare said.

Mr Sam Ochonma, the Managing Director, the Hook, described the “NoGoFallMagaConFamAmAgainCampaign” as a journey that would be taken to the nooks and crannies of the country.

Ochonma said it was intended to sensitise more Nigerians on the antics of cyberfraudsters, and how they can be avoided.

In his closing address, Mr Bayo Adeyinka of One Bankers, commended the group’s efforts to make the campaign fruitful.

He said that the campaign would save the economy from bleeding, and help to enlighten the populace on ways to avoid cyberfraud.