The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has distanced itself from a fraudulent letter being circulated by unknown persons, titled “Certificate of Site Ownership” for clearance of “Mast Transmission Antenna” allegedly issued by the NCC.
The commission, which said it came across the information through its social listening and environmental surveillance, said the letter purported that the letter claimed that the commission had conducted an inspection on a certain site for “9-Mobile Telecommunications Company G.P.R.S“. The fraudsters also gave conditions that the unsuspecting recipient of the letter would meet to make the certificate valid and effective for use by “10th November, 2022”.
The commission said several variants of the fraudulent letter may have been sent to individuals and organisations, with the intent to defraud, using the name of the commission.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the design and format of the forged letterhead bears no similarity with those of the commission. The department quoted in the fraudulent letter is non-existent at the commission. The signatory to the letter is also not known to the commission,” a statement by the commission’s director of public affairs, Reuben Muoka said.
The statement further advised the public to note that telecommunications services are offered by companies which are issued licences by the commission.
“The commission also maintains a register of all telecommunications companies in the country. Suffice it to say that, the process of initiating or exchanging correspondence between the commission and the licensees, has definite and distinct standard and style.
“In addition, the omission has very open and credible channels of communication, through which all information about it and its activities, including matters relating to correspondence on any subject matter, can be leveraged for verification.
“While the commission frowns at the nefarious activities of these fraudsters, telecom stakeholders, the Nigerian public and corporate organizations, are advised to be wary of the wiles of many fraudsters prowling the streets with all kinds of illegitimate documents, to avoid being victims of their nefarious activities.”
