Telecom
9mobile in Massive Nationwide Customer Loyalty Reward Campaign
In a bold move to further strengthen its customer experience niche while also rewarding and empowering its subscribers especially in the wake of the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nigeria’s leading customer-centric telecommunication company, 9mobile, has continued to reward customers with millions of naira and smartphones across the country.
So far, the promo has rewarded over 59 customers with N1million each and given out 3,000 smartphones and counting to lucky winners. The promo, designed to reward 90 lucky customers with N1 million daily, will also give out two smartphones every hour for 90 days and a grand prize of N10 million at the grand finale.
At the launch of the campaign in August, Mr. Alan Sinfield, the Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, had stated that the promo was designed to support Nigerians during the uncertain and challenging times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We realize the challenges people are faced with during this period, and we have designed this promo to help cushion the effects of the Covid-19 in Nigeria as families and individuals continue to confront the economic impact of the pandemic. This promo also demonstrates our philosophy that customers are at the core of our business, so we continue to prioritize them in our decisions.”
From the Ibadan 9mobile Experience Centre, it was all smiles for Ade Odewunmi Oluwaseun, a sophomore student at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic who won a million naira.
Speaking on her win, she said “I never believed it until I got here only to see that it is real. My mom is a single parent and things have been challenging. So, I will give the money to my mother so that she can use it to cater for my elder sister and me.”
Also, Mr. Suleiman Hassan who hails from Gombe State, exuded joy as he said: “I appreciate 9mobile because if I could win from my location in Gombe State, then everybody stands a chance of winning in this Mega Millions Promo. A huge part of the money will go to charity.”
Another million naira winner, Mrs. Suzy Madaki, a civil servant in Kaduna State was fulsome of appreciation to 9mobile for the Mega Millions Promo initiative.
“When I got a call from a 9mobile customer service representative that I have won a million naira I didn’t believe the promo was real. That is why I won’t blame anyone who feels the same way now. All I can say to them is that the promo is very real”.
In the same vein, Mr. Muhammad Kashala also struck gold as the Mega Millions Promo will enable him to start his cloth merchandizing business in earnest.
“I am so surprised that this is real. I will like to appreciate 9mobile for this wonderful opportunity they have given me. With this winning, I will start a clothing business,” Mr Kashala said.
The 9mobile winning train also recently made a stop-over in Bayelsa State where Mr. Preye Abariye Andrew, lauded the telco for the gesture and promised to donate part of his N1million to charity.
“I urge people to believe that the promo is real, 9mobile is a good network for people to use. I will donate items to orphanages and think about my future.” From the Port Harcourt Experience Center, Engr. Kalagbo Chinedu, who also won N1million said he never believed in his wildest dreams that the Mega Millions Promo was real let alone winning a million naira in the promo.
The Mega Millions Promo adopts a recharge and win mechanism. To participate, customers can simply recharge their lines with N200 or more to win a smartphone every hour or top-up N1000 and above to win the N1million daily prize.
A cumulative recharge of N10, 000 monthly over the 90 days duration of the promo qualifies customers for a chance to win the N10, 000,000 grand prize.
With 31million Naira and over 1,400 smartphones left to be won, participants can increase their chances of winning with frequent recharges. New customers will also get up to 100% data bonus for 12 months with free 1GB and N500 airtime.
Telecom
US blocks Nigerian’s cryptocurrency fraud, imposes $50,000 fine
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office successfully thwarted an attempt by Bimbo Toyin Akinyemi, a Nigerian national, to defraud a Kansas resident of cryptocurrency.
This was revealed in a statement titled, “State of Kansas, U.S., Thwarts Attempt by Nigerian Crypto Scammer to Defraud Resident, Attracting Over $50,000 in Civil Penalties.”
BitKE, known for reporting on Bitcoin, crypto, and blockchain activity in Africa, disclosed the news on Monday via its X handle #BitcoinKE.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Akinyemi promised the victim a large return for investing in cryptocurrency. Court documents show that Akinyemi entered into a contract with the unnamed victim on 15 July 2023, where the victim was to purchase Bitcoin and deposit it into Akinyemi’s ‘investment wallet address,’ with an expected return of $500 to $1,240.
Akinyemi exploited the victim’s lack of understanding of cryptocurrencies, misleading them by concealing the traceability of fund transfers and falsely claiming that depositing funds into a digital wallet would ‘activate’ it as an investment account. After receiving the deposits, Akinyemi transferred the funds to his own account.
A fraudulent $1,000 cheque was then sent to the victim, which was never cashed. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office stated that the victim is entitled to a refund of their $250 investment, and Akinyemi is responsible for $50,000 in civil penalties for five violations, $4,000 in investigation fees and expenses, and all court costs.
The Charities and Financial Scams Unit of the Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Akinyemi under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
Authorities seized Akinyemi’s wallet, which reportedly contained half of a Bitcoin valued at over $28,900, as well as other digital currency worth more than $4,000.
A local judge issued a default judgment against Akinyemi after they failed to respond to the summons and petitions sent to their email address. In addition to the financial penalties, Akinyemi has been prohibited from engaging in consumer transactions within the state.
“Cryptocurrency is a borderless asset that allows international scammers to target and defraud Kansans from the comfort of a keyboard,” said First Assistant Attorney General Nathanial Castillo.
“Scammers realise they have a better chance of getting away with fraud if they convince victims to send cryptocurrency. Kansans should always thoroughly scrutinise anyone they meet online before sending payment in cryptocurrency.”
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI were also part of the investigations.
Telecom
Telecoms Workers Begin Nationwide Strike
Workers in the nation’s telecommunications industry under the aegis of the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association (PTECSSAN) will today (Monday) begin an indefinite nationwide strike over sack, and poor working conditions among others.
Among the employees going on strike include field maintenance engineers, transmission engineers, customer service engineers, fibre engineers, and other critical staff.
There are fears that strike could disrupt telecommunications services nationwide if not resolved quickly.
PTECSSAN had given notice of the strike in a statement signed by Mr Okonu Abdullahi, its general secretary.
Abdullahi said the strike had become necessary following alleged anti-labour practices including the refusal of the employers to recognise and respect the workers’ constitutional rights to freely associate with the union.
He alleged also that three members of the union were unjustly sacked. He said: “We shall not be suspending the planned indefinite strike action until our demands, which are as follows, are met:
“Immediate reinstatement of the three unjustly sacked workers: Sotola Sunday Kolawole, Ulu Ikechukwu Christopher and Alex Franklin C.”
“Immediate recognition of the fundamental right of the employees to freely associate with the union, “ he said.
According to the general secretary, other demands include immediate recognition of the union as the negotiating body for the employees on workers welfare.
He said also that the union was demanding the immediate remittance of membership dues into its account as earlier provided among others.
“We hope that these companies will utilise the seven-day window of this notice to meet our demands and avert the indefinite strike action,” Abdullahi said
Telecom
NCC Partners EFCC, Police to Track Identity Thieves
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is working closely with law enforcement agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Police Force to track and apprehend individuals involved in identity theft and cybercrime.
This is coming on the heels of rising insecurity and other criminalities which has cashed into the poorly regulated SIM card registration.
Identity theft has been a major challenge faced by Nigeria.
According to Nigeria Tribune, it is not uncommon for criminals to use SIM cards registered under different names to aid in their illegal activities.
For example, kidnappers often use unregistered SIM cards or ones registered under false names to demand ransom from their victims’ families.
Dr Rueben Mouka, director Public Affairs of the NCC, said the major step taken by the NCC to address identity theft is the initiation of the mandatory linking of the National Identity Number with individual’s sim cards., according to Nigeria Tribune.
Apart from this huge step, the NCC had also taken more steps to address this issue and secure individuals from criminal elements.
The NCC had initiated the mandatory registration of sim cards and even took more steps to ensure that all the sims are linked to the individual’s National Identity Number (NIN).
This move is very strategic because once you have a NIN, your data would have been in possession of the government. This will reduce identity theft.
The NCC mandated telecom operators to register all SIM cards with valid identification documents such as the National Identification Number (NIN).
This helps in linking phone numbers to individuals, reducing the chances of criminals using unregistered lines for fraudulent activities.
The NCC is also supporting the government’s drive to integrate SIM cards with the National Identity Number (NIN) database.
This ensures that every mobile phone user in Nigeria is properly identified, making it more difficult for fraudsters to impersonate others or engage in identity theft.
To ensure that Nigerians are carried along in this strategic move, the NCC is currently running an awareness campaign to educate the public on how to protect their personal data, avoid sharing sensitive information with strangers, and recognize common tactics used in identity theft schemes.
The NCC has also implemented policies that require telecom companies to protect subscriber data from unauthorized access.
These regulations aim to ensure that personal information is not leaked or misused by third parties.
The Commission is also promoting capacity building in cybersecurity through training and collaboration with local and international bodies. This helps improve the country’s ability to prevent and respond to identity theft incidents.
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