NITDA warns Nigerians about fake CPM recovery scam

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a public warning after receiving reports that operators of an online marketing platform called CPM have been falsely claiming the agency is helping them recover lost funds. The platform further used that claim to demand additional payments from subscribers.

According to NITDA, affected users were told their platform had been breached and that extra money was needed to resolve the issue and recover their investments. The operators allegedly went further, claiming the agency was directly involved in the recovery process and that payments were required to support the agency’s work.

None of that is true. NITDA does not collect money from citizens, does not provide incident response support for private platforms, and does not assist private companies in resolving cybersecurity incidents in exchange for payment.

The agency described the claims as false and misleading, and said the pattern is consistent with social engineering fraud, a tactic where scammers exploit fear and urgency to pressure people into sending more money after they have already lost funds.

NITDA warns CPM users against additional payments

This follows a common pattern used in recovery scams. A platform crashes or stops paying. Users who have lost money are desperate to get it back.

Scammers then pose as recovery agents, or in this case, impersonate a government agency, and promise to help recover the lost funds, but only if victims pay an additional fee first. The fee disappears, the recovery never happens, and the victim loses twice.

NITDA has been clear: any person, group, or platform claiming that payments are required to or through NITDA for any reason is lying. No payment of any kind should be made.

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The agency advised Nigerians to be cautious when dealing with online investment and trading platforms, avoid sending additional money in any attempt to recover previous losses, verify all claims of government involvement directly through official channels, and refrain from sharing personal or financial information with unverified entities. Suspicious activity should be reported to the appropriate authorities.

For anyone unsure whether a claim is genuine, NITDA’s official communications can be verified through its website and verified social media channels. No legitimate government agency in Nigeria charges citizens to respond to a cybersecurity incident on their behalf.