The Central Bank of Nigeria has urged Nigerians to beware of scammers who post fraudulent messages regarding the recently launched eNaira.
Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, director of corporate communications, said in a statement on the bank’s website Wednesday that the bank does not pay eNaira currency to citizens as alleged by fraudsters.
Nwanisobi said: “Following the official launch of eNaira on Monday, October 25, the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria was drawn to the criminal and illegal activities of some people and a fraudulent pseudonym on Twitter, @enaira_cbdc has claimed to belong to the Bank.
“The pseudonym and the fraudsters have posted eNaira-related messages in an attempt to seduce unsuspecting Nigerians by claiming that the Central Bank of Nigeria, among other falsehoods, is disbursing the sum of eNaira 50 billion.
“These imposters are determined to defraud innocent and unsuspecting members of the public via the links attached to their posts to request to obtain eNaira wallets and become the beneficiaries of the said eNaira 50 billion currency.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Central of Nigeria is not the owner of this Twitter handle (@enaira_cbdc) and has effectively suspended its Twitter presence following the federal government ban. Indeed, the Bank does not pay eNaira currency to citizens. ”
Nwanisobi urged Nigerians to always make an effort to seek clarification of eNaira information, either by visiting the eNaira website: www.enaira.gov.ng or by calling the eNaira contact center on 0800 693 622 472. or by visiting the CBN branch closest to them.
He also advised anyone seeking clarification to visit the current official enaira social media handles: www.facebook.com/myenaira; www.instagram.com/myenaira and www.youtube.com/myenaira.
Nwanisobi requested that suspicious activity of members of the public be reported to the CBN using [email protected] or to relevant law enforcement agencies.