Cyber security is not something to joke about, if you’re not serious about it, you could very well lose everything that you’ve worked hard for. Now, thanks to the internet, it’s so easy to get hacked. Your phones, your computers, anything. As long as it has access to the internet, the hacker doesn’t even have to be in the same location as you to be able to get into your system.
We’ve heard of webcams, phone cameras, and microphones getting hacked and recording all your conversations. You could be like me who always leaves his laptop open even when I’m not working, as a result, it could turn into a piece of equipment used to spy on you. Recording private moments that you would never share with anyone.
That is one reason why the evolution of the internet is scary, especially now that everything is becoming smart. We even have things that have no business being smart, like refrigerators and air conditioners. And then, once a device is smart, it can automatically access the internet and its data will also be stored in the cloud. You’ll definitely be able to operate it with your phone and that could work either with Wi-Fi or with the internet.
The point of the thing is that they could all be hacked. Your doors, your fridge, your TV… if a person knows his chops, he can definitely get into any smart device. But then, there is one good thing about it all. Every internet user has a sort of room that is heavily fortified. It’s designed in a way that no one can get in, no matter how hard they try. On their own, people can’t hack into your devices. At least not without your help.
You have to open the door for them. It could be by giving them the password or revealing sensitive information that would enable them to pry the door open. That is why scammers call you and try to get you to reveal some private stuff because, on their own, they can’t access your account. There are so many ways this can be achieved, and one of the most rampant now is phishing links and trying to copy existing brands just so that they can scam unsuspecting customers.
Some time ago, I heard of how someone succeeded in scamming hundreds of students off their school fees. Through many of the departmental group chats that the students were in, the scammer advertised that he had a better way to pay school fees. Our school had a platform that we used to pay the fees, they gave us the RRR code and we used it to pay the fees. The platform would give us a receipt, and the school would also give us a receipt as well. The only downside to this was that the platform came with a charge. So, if your school fees were 40k, you could end up paying up to 40, 847. With the extra being charges.
So, the scammer said that the students no longer had to pay for the charge and they would pay that 40k that was the tuition. Not having to pay the N847 made many of them happy and they decided to check it out. It was a platform just like the original platform we used to pay the fees, but it had some subtle differences.
The original platform immediately showed your details when you put in the RRR code, but for the new platform, you had to input everything yourself. And then, you couldn’t pay via card, you could only pay via transfer. Those were signs that many people should have picked up on, but they didn’t. The scammer was smart though, and he wasn’t greedy. He only took the school fees and left the rest so as not to draw attention. He gave them receipts, even forged school receipts for the students and they all went on their merry way, thinking that they had paid their school fees.
However, when CBT came around, they began to get the shock of their lives. They went to write their CBT with their school fees receipt but they were all bounced back because it was all fake! When more than a hundred people were turning up with fake receipts and giving the same story that they paid on some platform, an investigation was launched. It was a pretty big deal because even the police were involved. When they did the count, almost a thousand students were affected. It wasn’t just for school fees though, acceptance fees, medicals, and other fees that required the platform.
By the time it was discovered, the website was shut down and the scammer had vanished. Even the number that he used to spread the word, no one seemed to have it anymore. I heard that the admins of all the groups he promoted his website in were all arrested by the police and called for questioning, I don’t know for sure. I also heard that he was eventually caught, just as I heard that he was able to use the money to Japa!
It was a crazy period because many people had no idea where to start from, it was not like they could pluck that money out of the sky. I wasn’t a victim of this because, at the time, I had already paid mine the right way back when I was undergoing my screening. However, I know some close friends who were victims of this. It was painful indeed and for a long time, it was as if people died in the school.
Since then, making online transfers even with trusted brands has been scary for me. I prefer to take my school fees to trusted cybercafes so they can pay them for me at a charge. At least if they stupidly give my money to scammers, I would make them give it back to me. And also, they know better how these things work. Because the only people who were scammed back then were those who chose to do it all themselves.
Technology is good, but as it evolves, we need to learn to evolve with it so that we can protect ourselves adequately. That money you’re busting your ass for, working day and night so you can make a life for yourself, it can be heartbreaking when someone will come one random day and wipe it all away. It’s enough to give anyone a heart attack.
Anyway, it’s all good. Let’s just stay safe because as I always say, “The streets don’t care about you!”
What a sad story; indeed, the evolution of the Internet is scary. Seriously, we need to be very careful out there and up our game.
As in ehn... carefulness is the only way ooo!
Chaiii
That person is crazy
It’s just unfortunate for those that their parents cannot afford to pay another school fee
As in ehn... there was one guy that couldn't return to school for almost the entire next semester due to what happened.
Thank you for this.
Cybersecurity is a matter of concern in this digital world. One wrong click or one stupid action can be enough to face trouble in online world and we may face financial loss or we can be blackmailed for our private data.
Either scenario is just painful and it's sad that we have to go through such things. It's just sad.
Hmmm, Omo, I can't imagine the trauma those students who fall victim will have when they find out that they have been scammed.
It happened to my junior sister as well but we couldn't trace the money because the guy who helped her to make the payment denied it and her phone was nowhere to be found which complicated the whole thing.
Omo... that's just sad. The lengths people will go just to scam people ehn, it's really scary.
That's a terrifying way to introduce and discuss a terrifying topic, scamming is now a digital problem as technology has evolved so have malicious ways to, with that being sad, I think learning about cyber security should become a norm in the upcoming generations and ours as well.
Time is money, so is data also let's all be warned and start taking action.
As in ehn... it should become a norm and even be taught as a subject in primary and secondary schools. So mistakes like this stop happening!
This same thing has nearly happened to me then but I'm glad I didn't ended up being a victim.
One can't be too careful at the end
It's just God that guides everyone of us on a daily basis.
Because only God knows how hard it could have been for some of them to have been able to get that school fees.
We can never be too careful o, and when you suspect, be sure to think twice so you don't fall victim.
Exactly
Thank you for sharing out this amazing post.
Their are lot's of lessons to be learnt