By Ngozi Onyeakusi– The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has again warned Nigerians against free wireless fidelity, WIFI, and free phone-charging ports, especially at airports and other public places adding that such could make it easier for criminals to hack phones.

The commission is intensifying regulatory efforts towards protecting the interests of telecom consumers from the scourge of financial frauds.

NCC demonstrated this at the 2019 fourth quarter Open Forum of the NCC’s Industry Consumer Advisory Forum, ICAF, in Abuja. The forum was attended by ICAF institutional and other stakeholders from telecom and financial sectors, law enforcement agencies as well as consumer advocacy groups, all of who convened at the instance of NCC to deliberate on financial frauds using the telecoms platform.

The deliberations focused on what consumers need to know in order to be protected. Thus, the forum provided opportunities for stakeholders to examine and address criminal acts perpetrated using telecommunications channels. Participants called on banks and telcos to step up measures to create robust awareness in order to ensure that telecoms platforms are used to carry out financial transactions safely.