As telecoms consumers demand for free or slashed data prices from operators like MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile, some websites are attracting unsuspecting Nigerians with fraudulent data plans. This is according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Placing Caveat emptor on such sites, NCC has warned Nigerians not to subscribe to their attractive offers.
The commission disclosed that its attention has recently been drawn to one of them, which is https://covid-19-fg-grant.blogspot.com/?=1.
According to NCC, the fake site has gone viral, as it asked Nigerian citizens to apply for a free Internet bundle that is offered by the Nigerian government in collaboration with NCC.
The information on the site read, “Nigerian government, in collaboration with NCC, is offering all Nigerian citizens up to 20GB of data to stay at home and get up-to-date information in a bid to counter the spread of COVID-19.
“All Nigerian citizens are entitled to free Internet connection to stay at home safely and enjoy the Internet in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19. The free Internet package is available to everyone starting from Friday, 27th March 2020,”
(READ MORE: NCC initiates second phase of sim deactivation, disables 2.2 million lines)
Meanwhile, after sending out the aforementioned message, the website then goes on to ask for personal details of Nigerians to access the free data. Applicants are supposedly expected to fill in their bio-data and other demographics.
Reacting to the development, NCC emphasized the fact that neither the Nigerian government nor the Commission has issued such message to Nigerian citizens.
What you should know: This is coming at a time where Nigerians are very keen on having free data subscriptions or at least slashed data prices amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which most people living in cities on lockdown.
Due to the fact that several Nigerians now stay at home or work from home, they tend to consume more data and as such, many consumers have called on their service providers, campaigning for free data.
(READ MORE: Airtel Africa receives NCC approval to acquire 10 MHz spectrum for $94 million)
Recall that Nairametrics had reported when some Nigerians picked on MTN and Airtel after they introduced free SMS packages for subscribers instead of the free data consumers had asked for.
DISCLAIMER: Press Statement
NCC Alerts Nigerians about Fake Website Spreading False Free Internet Claim
Link: https://t.co/Iv9uRqNFIm pic.twitter.com/OU8T7jdgMX
— ncc.gov.ng (@NgComCommission) April 2, 2020
