NIMC warns Nigerians of 5 fraudulent websites “harvesting” Nigerians’ data

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a statement warning Nigerians of five websites purportedly involved in unauthorized data harvesting. The five websites are as follows:

• idfinder.com.ng;
• Verify.Ng/sign in,
• championtech.com.ng,
• trustyonline.com, and 
• anyverify.com

This press statement could be a fallout of an alarm raised by Paradigm Initiative stating that some unauthorised websites were claiming to hold and provide access to sensitive personal and financial data of Nigerian citizens for as little as 100 Naira. Two out of the five websites mentioned in the Paradigm Initiative report are among the five listed by NIMC.

However, NIMC maintains that “the data of Nigerians has not been compromised, and the Commission have not authorised any website or entity to sell or misuse the National Identification Number (NIN) amongst all the identities stated in the report.”

NIMC urged the public to disregard any claims or services these websites offer and warned Nigerians not to give their data to the websites as they are potentially fraudulent and data provided by the public on such websites are gathered and stored to build the data services they illegally provide.

Kayode Adegoke, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications also assured the public that the “Commission has taken robust measures to safeguard the nation’s database from cyber threats- a secure, world-class, full-proof database is in place.”

“The commission’s infrastructure meets the stringent ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System Standard, with annual recertification and strict compliance with the Nigerian Data Protection Law,” he added.

“Furthermore, NIMC advises Nigerians to avoid giving their data to unauthorised and phishing sites. This poses the danger of data harvesting and comprises individual data. The Commission reaffirms its commitment to upholding ethical standards in data protection in line with federal government directives and data privacy regulations.”

“Moreover, licensed partners or vendors are not authorised to scan or store NIN slips but to verify NINs through approved channels.”

“The Commission is currently working closely with security operatives to apprehend theseelements masquerading as online vendors, and they will be made to face the full wrath of the law. NIMC urges the public to remain vigilant against false information and rely on verified sources for accurate updates. The Commission remains committed to providing secure and reliable identity management and upholding the highest level of security for systems and databases, which are critical national assets.”