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Scammers Turn to SMSes, Dupe Nigerians

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Taking undue advantage of Nigeria’s profile as the largest mobile market in Africa, scam artists have turned to SMS technologies to bait phone users leaving tales of woes and losses in their wake, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Like the infamous 419-scams, unsolicited short text messages (SMSes) are arriving in torrents in millions of mobile phones held by Nigerians with promises of non-existing rewards.
The sheer numbers of SMSes sent every day threaten to negate the marketing purposes of this increasingly popular advertising medium.
It is so bad that it is now difficult to spot a legitimate SMSes from scam and Nigerians unwillingness to come forward after falling victims’ serve to fuel the illegal business.
Increasingly, reckless communication practices by phone users play into the hands of fraudsters who request personal details like bank account PIN with which they use to wipe victims’ accounts in minutes.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that most of the scam SMSes assumes corporate identities of high street banks, telecom companies or any blue chip company to cheat an individual out of their money.
According to Dr Pieter Streicher, managing director, BulkSMS, as a show of good faith, the sender (scammer) asks for a deposit of a certain value to be made into another account.  The scammers typically get several payments out of victims, who never receive the funds.
“The more the victims give, the more they’ve already committed, and the more they keep giving.” He added.
Unsolicited short text message is not illegal yet in Nigeria and it is very easy to send.
All the scam artist need to do is to select a network number prefix and use a software programme to calculate all the permutations.
Lists of phone numbers are also available for sale by some unscrupulous employees of telecom companies.
John Owubokiri, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek in-house legal analyst, however said that a mobile phone user can invoke some legal protection in case of repeated text messages.
“Luckily, the recent landmark judgment in the country said that computer evidence is now admissible in court but the problem would be proving the origin of the SMS” he also said.
Unsolicited text messages can be very annoying and could pose a great privacy risk to the recipient.  With advancements in technology that supports sending SMS messages over Internet to any user across the globe poses a higher risk to the mobile users.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that SMS remains the most viable method for an attacker or spammer to get their message into some unsuspecting user’s inbox.
Detecting scam SMS is however easy by simply checking the message centre number where the SMS was sent from.
Most scam text messages come from +447….but if it is genuine it will start with Nigeria’s country code followed by telecom operator’s message centre.
For instance, any text message from any operator in Nigeria will have to start with +234 then followed by the operator message centre.
Emmanuel Okoegwale, mobile money and applications experts advised Nigerians to simply ignore any suspicious SMS.
Also, businesses and IT professionals should install anti-phishing tools alongside anti-virus protection.
Okoegwale urged the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to mandate network providers to implement solutions that would block fraudulent SMSes and empower its Consumer Affairs Bureau to open contact centres to take report of abuse.

 


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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CWG Board of Directors Approves 400% Increase in Dividend Payout

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CWG Plc has announced a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering value to shareholders. Following a thorough review of the company’s financial performance and outlook, the Board of Directors has approved a substantial increase of 400per cent in dividend payout to shareholders.

This decision reflects CWG’s confidence in its financial stability, growth trajectory, and ability to generate sustainable returns. By enhancing the dividend payout, CWG aims to reward shareholders for their continued trust and support while reaffirming its commitment to creating long-term value.

Mr. Philip Obioha, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CWG Plc, said, “The decision to approve a 400% increase in dividend payout underscores our confidence in CWG’s performance and outlook. We are dedicated to delivering value to our shareholders and believe that this significant dividend increase is a testament to our commitment to shareholder value creation.”

This increase in dividend payout aligns with CWG’s strategic objectives to prioritize shareholder interests and maintain strong financial discipline. The Board remains committed to prudent financial management and sustainable growth, ensuring that CWG continues to be a reliable investment for shareholders.

As CWG continues to execute its growth strategy and expand its presence in the market, the Board anticipates that the increased dividend payout will further strengthen investor confidence and support CWG’s vision for the future.


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Prof. Aliyu, AI Practitioner to Keynote ABoICT 2024

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CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.

 

Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.

This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.

The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.

According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.

He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.

“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.

A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.

He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.

Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.

He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.

Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.

Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.

Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.


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Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria

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Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.

Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria

Participants at the event

Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,

This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.

While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.

Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.

It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.

Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.

Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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