Business
Cyber Crime: Expert Harps On Awareness
The President, Nigeria
Internet Group, Mr Bayo Banjo, yesterday said that Nigeria might lose billions of naira to phishing/spamming, if adequate awareness was not created.
Banjo made this known in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
The Tide reports that phishing/spamming is the act of attempting to acquire sensitive personal details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Fraudsters use this method to send bulk e-mails to a large number of unsuspecting individuals with the aim of defrauding them.
“Personal details such as username, password and financial details could be stolen by fraudsters if an individual opens or responds to certain unsolicited e-mails,” Banjo said.
He advised internet users to be vigilant when responding to e-mails.
He also advised on how to recognise a spammed e-mail.
“The subject of an e-mail should be read and understood before the e-mail is opened. If the subject is not relevant to you, don’t open the e-mail.
“Some spammed e-mails are sometimes sent with something familiar, such as the name of your friend or your present location; they are just antics to lure you in.
“If your curiosity gets the best of you, and you open an e-mail and read the content, do not, for whatever reason, respond to the e-mail or open any link in the e-mail,” he said.
Banjo said that most spammed e-mails would be harmless, if the receiver did not reply to it or open any link in it.
He said that the links were embedded with dangerous malwares.
“The damage caused by phishing ranges from denial of access to e-mail box to substantial financial loss.
“There have been reported cases of online banking and ATM fraud from victims of phishing. This is happening because of lack of awareness.
“Even developed nations such as U.S. and Britain, which have ongoing effective awareness campaigns, still lose much to phishing annually.
“If this trend is not discouraged, it will put a dent on the economic situation of our country,” he said.
Banjo suggested installation of an effective spam filter software to avoid phishing.
“Alarmist messages and threats of account closures, promises of money for little or no effort and deals that sound too good to be true, are all signs of a phishing e-mail,’’ he said.
He mentioned other signs to include requests to donate to a charitable organisation after a reported disaster, poor grammar and misspellings.
Banjo urged Internet users to ensure that applications and operating systems were up-to-date and fully patched.
He also advised them to consider subscribing to cyber-intelligence services to identify and terminate online threats.
“Relevant authorities should drive to the heart of the problem by investing in security education and awareness programmes.
Stakeholders are expected to converge in Lagos today to take a look at the Nigeria’s preparedness to maximize the gains of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Tide learnt that stakeholders will be converging at the instance of a popular online newspaper, Primetime Reporters, to assess the progress made so far by the Federal Government through the National Action Committee on AfCFTA agreement.
The event which is the Third Annual Lecture and Awards of the online medium has as its theme: “Assessing Nigeria’s Preparedness to Maximize the Gains of AfCFTA.”
The event will also witness conferment of awards on eight eminent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in various fields of human endeavours.
The Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of Primetime Reporters, Mr. Saint Augustine Nwadinamuo, made this known in a statement made available to The Tide in Lagos on Monday.
According to him, the event will hold at the National Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos beginning from 10.00am.
Nwadinamuo said that the event would be chaired by a renowned legal practitioner, Barr. Osuala Emmanuel Nwagbara of the Maritime and Commercial Law Partners, Lagos, while the Director General, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, would be the lead paper presenter.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested a leader of a deadly 419 syndicate, Abayomi Kamaldeen Alaka (a.k.a Awise) over an alleged attempt to swindle an innocent Nigerian of N250 million.
The Tide learnt that the syndicate operates from a shrine at Ashipa Town, near Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to a statement made available to The Tide in Lagos on Sunday, by the EFCC, Awise’s arrest followed a petition by his victim, Juliet Bright who lost N250m to the fraudster after she was tricked to provide money for sacrifices and invocations to heal her of an ailment.
The statement said Bright was introduced to Alaka by one Akinola Bukola Augustina (a.ka. Iya Osun) whom she met on Facebook in the course of her search for solutions to her health challenge.
What drew her to Augustina was the latter’s post under the name, Osunbukola Olamitutu Spriritual Healing Centre.
Once Bright contacted Augustina, the latter promised to heal her if she could pay N16 million.
The victim paid the money through an Access Bank account belonging to one Mohammed Sani, who later turned out to be a Bureau De Change Operator.
After paying the money without receiving healing, Augustina transferred the victim to other members of the syndicate, notably Awise.
Bright revealed that she met Awise at his shrine in Ashipa Town and was hypnotized and subsequently transferred various sum through bank accounts and in cash to the suspect and his syndicate members, until she lost N250 million to them.
Despite all the monies collected from her, her health conditions has never improved.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
An expert in Quarantine Agriculture, Dr Vincent Ozuru, has advised Nigerian farmers to give more attention to growing plants produce that could be exported.
He said that plant like the hibiscus, popularly known as Zobo is on high demand in some countries around the world, today.
Ozuru who gave the advice while speaking to aviation correspondents at Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, noted that some plants produce, particularly hibiscus, had yielded huge revenue to the Federal Government through export.
According to him, Nigeria exported about 1,983 containers of hibiscus to Mexico alone in 2017 and earned $35 million within nine months of that year.
The agricultural quarantine expert explained that the export of the plant had a setback as a result of storage pest discovered by the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service in some consignments.
“The issue has now been taken care of and the export is resuming again, and all matters have been resolved with the stakeholders across the value chain.
“Mexico is the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus, and our farmers should brace up to the challenge.
“The good news is that Nigeria has a vast growing belt in hibiscus, and the harvest is available all year round.
“We need to take advantage of this opportunity to earn foreign exchange for ourselves and for the country at large, even with the commitment of the present administration to diversify the economy”, he said.
Ozuru called on Nigerian farmers to show more commitment to the growing of export produce and also endeavor to get ready information on it in order to increase their income.
By: Corlins Walter
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