Connect with us

News

CyberSafe Foundation’s NoGoFallMaga Community Releases Investment Scam Handbook

Published

on

Kindly share this post

NoGoFallMaga (NGFM), a campaign instituted by the CyberSafe Foundation has released its first Investment Scam handbook through its Community platform.

Released on August 12 to align with this year’s World Youth Day, the Investment scam Handbook is an essential tool that would protect individuals and businesses from investment scams.

It provides an in-depth look at the warning signs of Ponzi scams and offers tips on how to stay safe. The objective is for the handbook to continuously educate people on these cyber crime tactics.

The timely release of the Handbook is to align with the theme for this year’s World Youth Day, which is ‘Intergenerational Solidarity’; and the NGFM community wants to encourage people, especially the youth to show solidarity with other generations by educating them about the danger of investment scams.

Since youths are the most active online, more conversant with emerging technologies and energetic, the onus is on them to act as a sort of intergenerational stop gap, protecting other generations from the nefarious activities of fraudsters.

The CyberSafe Foundation’s NoGoFallMaga (NGFM) Community is a group of online security experts who are set to help people protect their money, assets, and identities online. The cybersecurity community is an initiative of CyberSafe Foundation, an NGO strategically positioned and, on a mission, to ensure inclusive and safe digital access in Africa.

NGFM has 142 active Volunteers and has uncovered and exposed over 20 Ponzi Schemes in Nigeria alone. Also they’ve helped SMEs, the aged and people at large by bringing awareness about these schemes.

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a recent statement had stated that “Ponzi schemes have undermined the reputation of the capital market and dampened investors’ confidence”, a major issue which is affecting the country’s capital market.  According to a study by Norrenberger Financial Investments Scheme, Nigeria has lost more than N300 billion to pyramid schemes over five years.

It is interesting to know that the first Ponzi scheme was created by Charles Ponzi in 1920. He promised investors a 50% return on their investment in just 45 days. And it worked for a while. But eventually, the scheme collapsed, leaving investors with nothing. And history has repeated itself over and over again since then.

The NogoFallMaga community, whose primary focus is on digital fraud, has intervened in several cybersecurity cases across the country and had in the past exposed a fake Job Syndicate impersonating the United Nations online.

NoGoFallMaga Community Manager, Enyinna Abazie revealed what the Community has achieved over the years, which includes the release of “The Phishing Handbook” and “The book of scams” to tackle various segments of scams in the country.

According to him: “Our biggest Ponzi burst so far was getting involved with the “Intelligence Prime Capital Scam.”  The said organization claimed to have a trading bot which used Artificial Intelligence to make a steady stream of profit. Investor-victims were also asked to recruit others into the scheme to earn more.

He further said, “a few months after our investigation, and saving countless numbers from joining the scheme, the perpetrators performed an exit scam and disappeared with the funds of investors. Ponzi schemes tend to go undetected for years, and by the time they’re exposed, it’s often too late”.

CyberSafe Foundation, the parent organisation for the NoGoFallMaga Community, has several other initiatives which include the ‘ShineYourEye Cybersecurity Community’ for the elderly, ‘CyberGirls Fellowship’, and the ‘DigiGirls Fellowship’. The organisation has also helped SMEs with the Cybersecurity SME toolkit launch this year.

 


Kindly share this post

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

News

Senate Expresses Shock over Billions of Naira missing from FG Coffers

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Senate has raised the alarm that billions of naira have left the federal government’s coffers unaccounted for, with critical revenue-generating agencies refusing to honour its Summons.

Senate Expresses Shock over Billions of Naira missing from FG Coffers

The Senate has however expressed anger as these revenue-generating agencies undermine its summon to answer queries raised by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAGF) about financial transactions.

Addressing Journalists yesterday in Abuja, Senator Aliyu Ahmed Wadada, SDP, Nasarawa West, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, explained that the unaccounted funds form part of the resources required for development, stressing that affected agencies needed to account in line with legislative provisions that empower the parliament to investigate them.

According to Wadada, the Auditor General’s report which was submitted to the Committee has unravelled rots in some agencies of government, that it takes only irresponsible parliament not to conduct public investigations, even as he was appalled at how these agencies conspire together and have taken the decision not to honour Senate Committees’ invitations.

The Chairman, Public Accounts Committee has named the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL as among the top government organisations that have vehemently refused to honour the Senate when invited.

Wadada has however threatened that the Senate would report heads of these agencies to President Bola Ahmed after another magnanimous opportunity.

Flanked at the briefing by all members of the Committee, Wadada said: “All efforts to get Nigerian Customs Service to the table to know how did this happen, what is the way forward. We are still where we were from the day before yesterday to now.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, I have a course on one of the issues that I’ve got to do with Central Bank of Nigeria, I have a course to take it on the floor of the Senate.

“It is important for Nigerians to know, under the so-called Ways and Means. What happened under Ways and Means why Central Bank of Nigeria, debited borrower and credited borrower.

“Consolidated revenue funds account is government’s account. And the TSA is also the government’s account. And in charging the interest, instead of the interest to be charged to the treasury account, they went again ahead to charge the Treasury account.

“They went again ahead to Treasury account. charge Consolidated Revenue Funds account which now have amounted to over 6 trillion.”

According to him, there was correspondences between the Committee and Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Debt Management Office, DMO because of the faulty documents which they were not ready to answer to and have been evasive, adding that the report of the Auditor General for the Federation which the affected agencies are running away from covers 2019 till date.

The chairman of the Committee disclosed that Nigeria Satellite Communications Limited had been invited nine times, but failed to appear, Nigeria Police Force; Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, among others as snubbing Senate’s invitation.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

FEC Approves ₦758 Billion Bond to Clear Pension Liabilities

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the issuance of a ₦758 billion bond by the Debt Management Office to clear the backlog of pension liabilities for all categories of pensioners.

The decision was made during Tuesday’s meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, announced the approval, stating that it provides significant relief to beneficiaries owed under the defined benefit system, which was replaced by the contributory pension scheme in 2004 and updated with a new act in 2014.

Edun explained that the defined benefit scheme requires periodic adjustments, including top-ups to reflect wage increases every five years, for those yet to retire under the old system.

Additionally, the FEC approved a €30 million long-term concessional financing agreement with the French Development Agency.

The loan aims to support student accommodation projects, with Family Homes Limited serving as the implementation partner.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

FG Says Nigeria @ ‘Moderate’ Risk following Fresh Ebola Virus Outbreak

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Federal government has said it has heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry following the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Uganda.

FG Says Nigeria @ ‘Moderate’ Risk following Fresh Ebola Virus Outbreak

The Nigeria Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has in a public advisory confirmed that there is currently no case of the virus , but warned that the country is at moderate risk.

This means that without mitigation, Ebola is likely to occur in Nigeria, with potential for significant public health consequences, hence the need to take the necessary precautions, the Centre explained.

Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, is a severe, often deadly disease caused by the Ebola virus, with a fatality rate of 25-90%.

On 30th January 2025, the Ministry of Health in Uganda confirmed an outbreak of Ebola caused by the Sudan specie, in Wakiso, Mukono and Mbale city in Mbale district.

Only one case has so far been reported, and one death (confirmed by post-mortem).

Forty-four (44) contacts are being followed up.

The NCDC said it will continue to monitor the regional and global

situations, but also urged Nigerians to avoid all but essential countries with confirmed cases of Ebola.

The Centre directed persons already in Nigeria but with recent travel history to or transit through countries with Ebola cases in the last 21 days who experience symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, sore throat, diarrhoea, weakness, vomiting, stomach pain,

or unexplained bleeding or bruising should promptly call 6232 or State Ministry of Health hotlines, shelter-in-place to avoid further spread, and await dedicated responders.

“On our part, we will continue to strengthen surveillance across the country, including our borders and airports especially for travelers from affected areas; alerting our health workers to heighten

their level of suspicion for suspected cases; enhancing our laboratory capacities for quick testing of suspected cases; as well coordination with the WHO and the African Regional Health Authorities to monitor developments and share critical information”, the centre said.

“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises”, it added.

While urging Nigerians to take preventive measures, the NCDC noted that the approved vaccine for the Zaire species is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus, which is responsible for the outbreak in Uganda.

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending