The National Information Technology Development Agency has denied any affiliation with an online earning and marketing platform known as CPM. This rebuttal follows reports that the platform was demanding money from users to repair its allegedly hacked systems.

The agency issued the disclaimer in a statement signed by its Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department, Hadiza Umar, on Monday, describing the reports as false and misleading.

According to media reports, subscribers via the platform operators reported that their systems had been hacked and that additional payments were required from subscribers to resolve the issue and recover funds.

NITDA allegedly was helping them to resolve the issue and that subscribers needed to make additional payments to support the process.

NITDA debunked those reports dissociating itself from CPM, noting that the agency, as a government agency, did not request money.

“NITDA wishes to categorically state that these claims are false and misleading.

“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,” NITDA said.

The agency alleged that the efforts of the so-called CPM to disguise itself as NITDA indicated possible social engineering and fraudulent activity. It said the efforts targeted exploiting affected individuals under the pretence of resolving a cybersecurity incident or recovering lost investments.

NITDA warned Nigerians against making financial payments to any bodies or organisations that claim NITDA requires such payments for operations.

“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.

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“The reported pattern may indicate possible social engineering or fraudulent activity aimed at exploiting affected individuals under the guise of resolving a cybersecurity incident or recovering lost investments,” the agency said.

NITDA said Nigeria should exercise caution when dealing with online investment and trading platforms and must avoid sending additional funds in an attempt to recover previous investments or losses.

The agency added that online users must verify any claims of government involvement directly through official channels and refrain from sharing sensitive personal or financial information with unverified entities.

The regulator reiterated that Nigerians must promptly report suspicious cyber-related activities to the appropriate authorities to contain increasing risks of online attacks and fraud.

“NITDA remains committed to promoting cybersecurity awareness and protecting the public against cyber-enabled fraud and deceptive online activities.”