The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has demanded tougher action against the escalating financial crimes connected to telecoms. In order to prevent unauthorized access, NCC instructed telecom operators to upgrade the security architecture of their networks.
The commission bemoaned the fact that Nigerians are losing their hard-earned money on a daily basis to scammers who use their platforms’ vulnerabilities to their advantage.
Yesterday, in Lagos, Nigeria, at the Second Quarter Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF), with the theme: “Combating e-Fraud on Telecom Platform: Building Consumer Confidence in the Digital Economy,” NCC Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Alkasim Abubakar Umar, said in recent years, the growth of the telecoms sector in Nigeria has been remarkable with increasing access to mobile phones and Internet connectivity and “we have witnessed a surge in digital transactions, making lives more convenient and efficient.”
Umar, however, claimed that this quick development has given thieves additional opportunities to take advantage of gullible people through various kinds of technological fraud.
He claims that certain statistics indicate that during the last four years, Nigerians have lost around N12.5 billion as a result of financial crimes connected to the telecoms sector.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) predicted that $600 billion is lost to cybercrime annually, an increase over a 2014 research that pegged worldwide losses at roughly $445 billion, according to the NCC Director, who emphasized that this must be halted right once.
Umar also cited a story from The Guardian from August 3, 2022, in which it was said that across Africa, the risk of cybercrimes had dramatically increased in the first half of the year, “with phishing and scams hitting 438 percent and 174 percent in Kenya and Nigeria, respectively.”
As a result, he claimed that eFraud represents a serious threat to society since it erodes public trust in digital platforms, restrains economic expansion, and negatively affects citizens’ quality of life.
He said that the NCC is aware of its responsibility to protect consumer interests and the integrity of the digital ecosystem as the regulatory body in charge of regulating the telecommunications sector.
In his keynote address, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, lamented the growing threat of eFraud, stating that it includes a variety of malicious activities carried out via electronic means, such as identity theft, phishing, hacking, and unauthorized access to personal and financial information, with the intention of defrauding or taking advantage of victims. He claimed that in addition to potentially resulting in substantial financial losses, these criminal activities would also damage consumer confidence in the digital economy.
Danbatta stated he recently lost $5000 of his legitimate earnings to cybercriminals, demonstrating how painful the activities of eFraud may be. He noted that the networks must be kept secure for everyone.
In order to keep their networks strong and secure from criminal attacks because of customers, he asked the telecoms operators to improve and equip their networks with the necessary instruments.
He asserted that an unsecure network put Nigerians’ personal information at risk and that the NCC’s type approval equipment policy was necessary to ensure that Nigerians’ security and safety were not jeopardized.
Key difficulties of eFraud, according to the keynote speaker, Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho, Non-Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of FutureSoft, include a dynamic threat landscape, greater risk, lack of knowledge, a lack of collaboration, and a lack of rules.
Building consumer trust in the digital economy, implementing policies that encourage collaboration, creating formal mechanisms for information sharing, and encouraging public-private partnerships within the telecoms sector as well as cross-sector to leverage expertise are all necessary, according to Uwaje-Begho, if threats are to be reduced.
She claims that information exchange and international cooperation among nations can assist stop eFraud; telecom operators should put multi-layered security measures in place; they should also conduct frequent security audits, vulnerability assessments, and timely software upgrades.
Collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and law enforcement authorities, she suggested, can help stop eFraud.
