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E-Business

7 Scams to Watch Out for in 2024

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As technology gets more advanced, fraudsters are also getting better at deceiving and stealing from us. In 2024, scammers have some new tricks up their sleeve, such as deepfake impersonation. That is why fostering a zero-trust mindset can help to keep yourself safe from these scams.

Watch out! for the following Scam in 2024.

  1. Deepfake impersonation scams

Imagine receiving a voice note from your CEO instructing you to transfer money to a bank account. You follow the instructions without realising that the voice note is a deepfake. And just like that, you have fallen for a scam. Deepfakes make use of AI technologies to create new – but fake – images, videos, and/or audio material from existing material, “Artificial intelligence (AI) technology makes it easier for fraudsters to create these convincing fake messages from people you know and trust,” explains Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA. “It enables scammers to generate video and audio that is so convincing, many believe it is real.”

Fraudsters also use AI-generated voice notes or videos to impersonate a family member, such as a grandchild, who claims to be in distress and in need of money. This is called a grandparent scam. “People get scammed that way because their emotions are triggered by hearing an authentic sounding voice clip of their loved one and want to help,” comments Collard.

Another fraudulent application of deepfakes is to impersonate politicians to spread confusion or disinformation. “This is definitely something to watch out for in 2024 as it’s an election year,” says Collard.

  1. Investment scams

Investment scams can appear as trustworthy financial organisations promising incredible returns. “However, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” says Collard. She advises being cautious in such situations. Scammers often combine cryptocurrency scams with romance scams as well.

Another scam to be wary of in 2024 involves fake loans that offer low-interest rates but never actually materialise. Instead, victims are required to pay upfront fees or provide their personal information. “With the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, scammers may tempt many individuals to apply for these loans to make ends meet, be very careful of any offers that sound too good to be true.”

  1. Romance scams

By using fake profiles on dating sites or social media, scammers build trust with their victims and then exploit this emotional connection to trick them into sending them money. “Even though family members might repeatedly warn the victim, they often continue with the romantic deception because once on the hook, psychologically it is very difficult for the victim’s brains to admit that they have been conned,” explains Collard.

  1. Identity and social media profile theft

Identity theft involves stealing personal information to commit fraud. Scammers do this via phishing emails or phone calls, as with banking scams. “Social media profile theft involves hackers hijacking your social media accounts to reach out to your contacts, pretending to be you, spreading malicious software, scams or asking for money,” says Collard.

  1. Charity fraud

After a humanitarian crisis, like a flood, charity scams frequently emerge. “These scams play on your emotions and ask you to give money to a worthy cause, but in reality, they are fake charities,” explains Collard. Red flags to watch out for are unusual payment methods, such as EFT, instead of secure payment platforms. “Always make sure that charities are registered before you donate and that you interact with the legitimate NGO or charity before transferring any money,” she advises.

  1. Tech support scams

Posing as IT technicians, these scammers try to convince you that there’s something wrong with your computer and offer to fix it. They then seize control of your computer and steal your personal information or hack into your bank account. “These scams prey on people’s fears,” says Collard. “They throw people into a state of panic in which they’re not thinking logically.” She recommends hanging up right away and directly contacting your IT support centre.

  1. Puppy scams

Are you in the market for a pure-bred puppy? Beware! International crime syndicates operating in South Africa offer purportedly discounted pooches. According to Collard, many individuals have suffered significant financial losses not only for the non-existent dog but also for the transportation expenses. She advises buyers to be wary if they encounter a wide variety of dogs for sale on a website or if they are immediately offered a puppy. “Breeders do not operate like Takealot. There are usually waiting lists; it takes time for a puppy to become available,” she says. “If you’re offered a second dog at a 30% discount, it’s highly likely you’re being scammed.”

The general advice for any of the scams listed above is to slow down and take a breath before reacting to anything, particularly if it’s emotionally triggering content.

As the boundaries between our physical and virtual worlds continue to blur, a zero trust mindset encourages us to pause, think, and evaluate the content we are interacting with, thereby empowering us to make conscious and more rational decisions.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

E-Business

Survey Reveals Marketing Leaders See Strong Potential in gTLDS Despite Knowledge Gap

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A new global survey from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) reveals that 52% of marketing leaders believe generic top-level domains (gTLDs – the three characters or more that come after the dot in a URL) have strong potential for enhancing brand presence online; however, a knowledge gap is preventing many brands from taking advantage of the opportunities that a gTLD can bring.

The research surveyed over 2,000 marketing leaders across eight countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, U.K., and U.S.) with the purpose of creating a picture of the evolving digital marketing landscape and understanding the levels of awareness around gTLDs.

It comes as ICANN prepares to open the next application window for new gTLDs in April 2026 the New gTLD Program: Next Round – the first opportunity in more than a decade for organizations to apply to operate their own gTLD.

Top-level domains are the letters found at the end of an Internet address (with gTLDs including .charity, .menu, .paris and .ceo). Brands can apply to run their own gTLD as a way to indicate the purpose of their organization or to clearly mark a website as being related to their brand.

The research shows that increasing brand awareness and visibility is the top priority for marketing leaders (54%) and that over half believe that gTLDs have strong potential for enhancing brand presence online.

However, the research also shows that almost a third (32%) of marketing leaders surveyed are unfamiliar with gTLDs, which suggests that operating a new gTLD may be a strategic opportunity that many organizations are currently overlooking.

Key findings from the research include:

  • After defining a gTLD, 92% of marketing leaders responded that they could see the potential benefits to gTLDs, with enhanced brand differentiation (46%), improved customer trust (45%), better control over online presence (44%), and improved SEO (44%) topping the list.
  • 19% of marketing leaders work for organizations that have previously applied for a gTLD.
  • Cost concerns (31%), knowledge gaps (27%), and insufficient resources (24%) were identified as the main barriers to application.
  • The research revealed notable regional variations, with Nigerian (74%) and Indian (61%) marketing leaders showing the strongest belief in gTLDs’ potential for branding and online presence. In contrast, marketers in China expressed more mixed views, with 50% seeing strong potential but 49% considering gTLDs an unnecessary investment with unclear Return On Investment.

The findings come at a time when marketing leaders are facing significant challenges in standing out from competitors (53%), attracting and engaging the right audience (52%), and keeping pace with digital trends (47%).

A new gTLD can be an innovative tool for commerce and communication. They allow businesses in specific countries, sectors, or niche markets to create an exclusive, descriptive, and memorable label on the Internet.

An entity operating a gTLD can provide its users and customers with an extra measure of confidence in its security and legitimacy online. This can be valuable in today’s environment, where users often don’t know whether they can trust the source on the Internet.

Theresa Swinehart, SVP, Global Domains & Strategy said: “The New gTLD Program: Next Round presents an opportunity for businesses, communities, governments, and others to apply to operate their own secure space online, tailored to fit their organization, community, culture, language, and customer interests.

Now is also the moment for brands to consider applying for a gTLD, and this research tells us there is still a lack of awareness. ICANN can help provide information and raise awareness of the Next Round and the opportunity it presents for global communities, organizations, and businesses, including brands.”

To help address the knowledge gap, ICANN is developing resources to help organizations understand the application process and potential opportunities for gTLDs ahead of the 2026 application window. ICANN also offers the Applicant Support Program (ASP), which provides financial and non-financial assistance to eligible applicants.

 


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Firm Reports a 48% Increase in Malicious Packages Threatening Software Supply Chains

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Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) experts at the 10th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2025 held recently, talked about supply chain attacks and reported that by the end of 2024 a total of 14,000 malicious packages were found in open-source projects, a 48% increase compared to the end of 2023. 42 million versions of open-source packages have been examined by Kaspersky throughout 2024 in search for vulnerabilities.

Open-source is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Popular open-source packages include GoMod, Maven, NuGet, npm, PyPI, and others.

These are tools that power countless applications and help developers easily find, install, and manage pre-built code libraries, making it simpler to build software by reusing code others have written. Attackers take advantage of the popularity of these and other packages.

In March 2025, the Lazarus Group was reported to have deployed several malicious npm packages, which were downloaded multiple times before removal. These packages contained malware to steal credentials, cryptocurrency wallet data, and deploy backdoors, targeting developers’ systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The attack leveraged GitHub repositories for added legitimacy, highlighting the group’s sophisticated supply chain tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT also found other npm packages related to this attack. Malicious npm packages could have been integrated into web development, cryptocurrency platforms, and enterprise software, risking widespread data theft and financial losses.

In 2024, a sophisticated backdoor was discovered in XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, a widely used compression library in Linux distributions. Inserted by a trusted contributor, the malicious code targeted SSH servers, enabling remote command execution and threatening countless systems globally.

Detected before widespread exploitation due to performance anomalies, the incident highlighted the dangers of supply chain attacks. XZ Utils is integral to operating systems, cloud servers, and IoT devices, making its compromise a threat to critical infrastructure and enterprise networks.

In 2024, Kaspersky’s GReAT discovered that attackers uploaded malicious Python packages like chatgpt-python and chatgpt-wrapper to PyPI, mimicking legitimate tools for interacting with ChatGPT APIs.

These packages, designed to steal credentials and deploy backdoors, capitalised on the popularity of AI development to trick developers into downloading them. These packages could have been used in AI development, chatbot integrations, and data analytics platforms, endangering sensitive AI workflows and user data.

“Open-source software is the backbone of many modern solutions, but its openness is being weaponised. The 50% rise in malicious packages by the end of 2024 shows attackers are actively embedding sophisticated backdoors and data stealers in popular packages, which millions rely on.

“Without rigorous vetting and real-time monitoring, a single compromised package can trigger a global breach. Organisations need to secure the supply chain before the next XZ Utils-level attack succeeds,” comments Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center for Russia and CIS at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team.


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NDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres

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Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.

NDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres

The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.

Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.

Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.

It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.

Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.

 

 

 


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