While Nigerians rightly welcome the deepening of broadband penetration in the country, they must be on the lookout for cybercriminals whose activities are also on the increase as a result. …
Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), gave the advice at the 26th edition of the Consumer Town Hall Meeting hosted in Mokwa, Niger State, by the commission.
The event is part of enlightenment programmes organised regularly by the NCC across the country to sensitise telecom consumers on developments, opportunities, threats and potentials in the industry. The NCC is Nigeria’s telecom regulator, with a towering pedigree for consumer-centric activities.
Represented by the commission’s Head, Government & Legislative Unit in the Public Affairs Department, Alhaji Bashir Idris, Mrs. Onwuegbuchulam said without individual and corporate consumers of telecoms services becoming aware of cybercrime trends and forms, as well as making conscious efforts to ensure safe use of connected devices, cybercriminals will continue to make cyberspace unsafe.
The theme of the town hall meeting was apt: ‘Mitigating Effects of Cybercrimes: The Role of Telecom Consumers”, as the commission used the occasion to enlighten the telecom consumers on the threats of cybercrime, its various forms and measures required to be protected from cybercriminals and hackers.
“It is common knowledge that the use of Internet has become part of telecom consumer’s daily activities whether at home, in the workplace or any social settings. Smartphones and other smart devices used by telecom consumers are a storehouse of data carrying sensitive information about the telecoms consumer, his or her family, businesses, associates and daily interactions as well as financial transactions details. Admittedly, the Internet touches almost all aspects of our lives as telecom consumers,” she said.
Consequently, she cautioned that as broadband penetration gets deeper for the promotion of positive engagements and efficient economic activities in the country, the tendency for some Internet users to use such access for criminal and illegal activities is also on the rise, thereby requiring adequate consumer education.
According to her, businesses and individuals in every country currently rely on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for their day-to-day activities, where Internet is playing a key role in interconnectivity of devices.
“Hence, the Commission is committed to using its various outreach programmes to embark on series of awareness campaigns with a view to keeping consumers well informed on the risks associated with being online, enlightening them on safety measures to be taken once they use connected devices as simple as feature phone, smartphones and other more sophisticated Internet-enabled devices,” she added.
Representative of a consumer advocacy group, Wheel of Hope, Mr. Jibe Abdul-Aziz in his lead paper, enlightened consumers on forms of cybercrime such as phishing scams, online scams, hacking, malware, child soliciting & abuse and identity theft, among others while educating them on safety tips. According to Abdul-Aziz, the safety measures needed to be taken by the consumers but not limited to, outright deleting of suspicious scam emails or text messages, using strong passwords, using trusted software and keeping it updated, talking to children about the internet fraud, reporting cases of lost Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card to service providers and respective banks, among others.