WARNING! ‘Cybercriminals Taking Advantage Of New SIM Card Registration Rules’

Nigerian bank customers have been warned against falling victim of a new trick being used by cybercriminals to defraud unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money.

The bank customers were urged to be wary of how fraudsters are taking advantage of the Federal Government’s new SIM card registration rules to swindle people.

Access Bank sent out an email to its customers on Friday, informing them of the new scam.

It reads, “Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the new SIM card registration rules to trick unsuspecting customers into clicking malicious links.

“DO NOT CLICK on any SUSPICIOUS LINK or respond to any unsolicited message asking you to link your phone numbers or provide personal information to get NIN registration updates. This can compromise your device or bank account”

The bank further urged customers against entering their personal information on random websites, saying only nimc.gov.ng, mtnonline.com/nin/, gloworld.com/ng/, and airtel.com.ng were legitimate websites for linking their NIN.

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), had recently directed telecoms subscribers in the country to link their National Identity Number (NIN) with their SIM cards to avoid disconnection of their lines.

The NCC had said, “…the current exercise of linking NIN to SIM(s) is for the common good of all Nigerians, as it has far reaching benefits,” adding that, “Apart from enhancing our general safety, this will help in such vital exercises like National Budgeting, Policy Planning, Social Intervention programs and many more.”