NCC Warns Nigerians of Active Hacking Scam Targeting Device Verification Portal

The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has warned Nigerians about an active phishing campaign in which fraudsters are impersonating the Commission’s device-verification portal to obtain sensitive personal and financial information.

In an advisory published on October 30, 2026, the response team said it had identified deceptive websites designed to look like the official verifymydevice.gov.ng platform. The sites exploit public interest in device registration and verification, using cloned branding and urgent prompts to persuade visitors to submit information or make payments.

The NCC-CSIRT identified fraudulent domains including secure-verifymydevice.ng, verifymydevice.com.ng, embed-ncc.registrmydevice.ng and verifymydevice.ng. It warned that people who interact with the sites could face personal-information theft, financial loss, identity theft and follow-on scams. The advisory also cautioned that malicious redirects could expose users to malware.

The agency said the fake pages may request one-time passwords, banking details or payments for services that are not legitimate. It stressed that the presence of HTTPS encryption or familiar-looking logos does not prove that a website is genuine.

**What Nigerians should do**

The NCC-CSIRT advised the public to verify devices only through the official USSD code *315#, the Commission’s website at www.ncc.gov.ng/devicechecker, or the official portal at www.verifymydevice.gov.ng. Consumers can also call 622. The Commission said it will not request an OTP or bank details during the verification process.

Users should check website addresses carefully before entering information, avoid clicking verification links sent through unsolicited messages, and never disclose banking passwords or one-time codes. Anyone who has submitted sensitive information to a suspicious website should contact their bank promptly, secure affected accounts and report the incident through official NCC-CSIRT channels.

The warning forms part of a wider cybersecurity challenge facing Nigeria’s digital economy. In a separate advisory, the NCC-CSIRT has described the risk posed by rogue cellular networks that can impersonate legitimate mobile networks and facilitate fraudulent SMS messages and the interception of one-time passwords. That advisory describes a potential threat to Nigerian telecoms and financial systems; it does not establish that every mobile subscriber is currently affected.

For businesses and public institutions, the latest alert is a reminder that cybercrime increasingly relies on impersonation and social engineering, not only on technical breaches. Organisations should maintain clear customer communication channels, monitor suspicious domains and strengthen procedures for handling identity and payment requests.

The NCC-CSIRT classified the device-verification phishing campaign as high probability and high impact. Its advisory requires telecommunications service providers and licensed operators to block identified malicious domains and report relevant cybersecurity incidents through the Commission’s prescribed channels.

The public advisory is available from the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team. Consumers should rely on the Commission’s official website and verified channels for any further updates.

**Sources:** Nigerian Communications Commission Computer Security Incident Response Team, “Phishing Campaign Impersonating Official verifymydevice.gov.ng Device Verification Portal”, October 30, 2026; NCC-CSIRT advisory on rogue cellular network attacks and mobile signal hijacking used for banking fraud.