The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Monday disowned claims that it was involved in resolving issues related to an online marketing and earning platform identified as “CPM,” warning Nigerians against making additional payments to individuals or groups using its name.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department at NITDA.
In the advisory by the agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT.NG), NITDA said it had received reports from members of the public alleging that operators of the platform informed subscribers that their systems had been hacked and demanded extra payments to recover lost funds.
According to the agency, the operators also allegedly claimed that NITDA was assisting them in resolving the issue and that subscribers were required to contribute money to support the process.
NITDA, however, described the claims as false and misleading.
“As a government agency and Nigeria’s Information Technology regulator, NITDA does not request or collect money from citizens to provide incident response support, recover funds, or assist private entities in resolving cybersecurity incidents,” the statement said.
The agency warned members of the public to avoid making further payments to any individual, group, or platform claiming to act on behalf of NITDA.
It added that the pattern of activities reported by victims suggested possible social engineering and fraudulent schemes targeted at exploiting affected individuals under the guise of recovering lost investments or resolving cybersecurity issues.
NITDA advised Nigerians to exercise caution when dealing with online investment and trading platforms and to avoid sending additional funds in attempts to recover previous losses.
The agency also urged the public to verify claims of government involvement through official channels, refrain from sharing sensitive personal or financial information with unverified entities, and report suspicious cyber-related activities to relevant authorities.
NITDA reiterated its commitment to promoting cybersecurity awareness and protecting Nigerians against cyber-enabled fraud and deceptive online activities.
