The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monday advised the general public that cyber-criminals are taking advantage of the current “COVID-19” pandemic to defraud citizens.
They cyber-criminals are stealing sensitive information and gain ing unauthorized access to computers and mobile devices of bank customers, the regulator said.
CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed the trend was not only happening in Nigeria, but globally. He said there has been a rise in COVID-19-related cyber- criminal activities all over the world. “Our priority is to ensure that Nigerian banking customers are aware of the ongoing trend to prevent them from falling victim to such cyber- crimes,” he said in the statement titled: ‘Alert! Beware of COVID-19 Cyber-attacks, Fraud’.
According to him, the cyber-criminal activities were using the COVID-19 pandemic as Phishing campaigns where cyber-criminals send out emails claiming to be from health organizations such as the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO). The email may contain a link which, if clicked, steals login credentials or other confidential information from the victim’s computer or mobile device.
The CBN spokesman said cyber-criminals have also been sending messages via social media or emails asking people to click on links to register in order to get their COVID-19 relief packages from the Government or other organisations. They simply use this to get confidential information from unwary victims. Relief package scams also come in the form of phone calls asking people to provide their banking details to receive relief packages.
