ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The National Information Technology Development Agency has distanced itself from reports linking the agency to efforts aimed at recovering funds allegedly lost on an online earning and marketing platform known as “CPM.”
In a public disclaimer shared on X on Monday by the Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Mrs. Hadiza Umar, NITDA said it had received reports that subscribers to the platform were informed that the system had been “hacked” and that additional payments were needed to resolve the issue and facilitate the recovery of their money.
According to the agency, the operators of the platform allegedly claimed that NITDA was involved in the recovery process and that affected users were required to make further payments to support the intervention.
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However, the agency dismissed the claims as untrue.
“NITDA wishes to categorically state that these claims are false and misleading,” the agency stated.
NITDA emphasised that it does not demand or receive payments from members of the public for incident response services, fund recovery or assistance to private organisations in handling cybersecurity matters.
“As a government agency and Nigeria’s Information Technology regulator, NITDA does not request or collect money from citizens to provide incident response support, recover funds, or assist private entities in resolving cybersecurity incidents,” the statement added.
The agency warned Nigerians against sending money to any person, group or platform claiming to represent NITDA in the recovery process.
“Members of the public are therefore strongly advised to exercise caution and avoid making any additional payments to any individual, group, or platform claiming that such payments are required by or connected to NITDA,” it said.
NITDA further stated that the pattern of requests being made to affected subscribers suggested possible fraudulent activity or social engineering tactics designed to exploit victims under the pretext of helping them recover lost investments.
The agency advised Nigerians to be cautious when dealing with online investment and trading platforms, avoid paying more money in attempts to recover previous losses, confirm claims of government involvement through official channels and avoid sharing sensitive financial or personal information with unverified parties.
“NITDA remains committed to promoting cybersecurity awareness and protecting the public against cyber-enabled fraud and deceptive online activities,” the statement concluded.