The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to pay N15 million damages over the unlawful deduction of a subscriber’s airtime through unsolicited services.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, described as fraudulent, the regular deduction of airtime of customers by the telecommunication giant, for the auto-renewal of services not subscribed to.

It further held that the sending of unwarranted text messages by the company amounted to a breach of subscribers’ right to privacy under section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as the violation of Regulation 28 of Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.

The judgement followed an appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/137/2022, which was brought before the court by an aggrieved customer, Mr. Ezugwu Anene.

Anene had approached the court, alleging that he received over 244 unsolicited text messages from MTN for Weekly Guidance and Counseling, a service he said he did not subscribe to.

He told the court that from 2016 to 2018, N20 was unlawfully deducted from his airtime balance, each time he received the text message on his mobile telephone line he gave as 08030735301.

The Appellant alleged that MTN continued to deduct his airtime for Caller Tune Services that was imposed on him.

He told the court that the unwanted deductions persisted, even though he protested at the Abuja office of the telecommunication company and also used a code, 2442, which he was told would activate a Do Not Disturb service on his line.

Google has issued a critical security warning to its 2.5 billion Gmail users, cautioning against a surge in holiday season scams.

The tech giant disclosed this in an official blog post on Google’s Product News, emphasizing the need for vigilance as scammers intensify their activities during this period.

In its announcement, Google revealed a sharp rise in email traffic since mid-November, describing the holiday season as a peak period for cybercriminals.

“With more than 2.5 billion users, Gmail is the world’s largest email provider, and we know how important it is to keep inboxes everywhere safe. We invest heavily to meet this responsibility, blocking more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware in Gmail,” the company stated.

Google warned users to remain alert, noting that scammers often adapt their tactics during the holiday season.

“We typically see a second wave of attacks around this time in the holiday season as attackers adjust and try new things,” the blog post stated.

The company identified three common scams currently in circulation:

1. Invoice scams

Fraudsters send fake invoices, prompting victims to call and dispute charges. They use the interaction to extract payments or sensitive information.

2. Celebrity scams

These scams exploit the popularity of celebrities to deceive users. Fraudsters either impersonate famous personalities or falsely claim that a celebrity is endorsing a product or service.

The association with a celebrity builds trust and encourages victims to engage with fraudulent offers, often leading to financial loss or identity theft.

3. Extortion scams

Extortion scams are particularly alarming as they use fear and intimidation to manipulate victims. Scammers send threatening emails containing personal details, such as the victim’s home address or other sensitive information.

These messages often include threats of physical harm or the release of compromising personal data unless a ransom is paid. The inclusion of personal details makes the threats appear credible, pressuring victims into complying with the demands.

How to stay safe 

Google advised users to follow these four key steps to protect themselves:

1. Slow it down– Scammers often create a sense of urgency to push victims into making hasty decisions. Emails may use terms like “urgent,” “immediate action required,” or “account deactivated” to instill panic. Google advises users to pause, assess the situation, and avoid acting impulsively.

2. Spot check

Always verify the authenticity of an email before taking any action. Check the sender’s email address and cross-reference the details provided in the message.

Does the email make sense? Is it consistent with communications you expect from the purported sender? Conducting a quick online search can help confirm if the email is legitimate or part of a known scam.

3. Stop! don’t send

Legitimate organizations or individuals will never demand immediate payments or request sensitive personal information via email. Avoid sharing financial details, passwords, or other private information in response to unsolicited emails.

4. Report it

If you receive a suspicious email, mark it as spam or phishing within your email platform. Reporting such emails not only helps protect your inbox but also contributes to broader efforts to combat scams, benefiting millions of other users.

By following these steps, Gmail users can enhance their defenses against holiday scams and reduce the likelihood of falling victim to cybercriminals.

Google highlighted its advancements in artificial intelligence as a key factor in combating cyber threats.

“This year, we developed several ground-breaking AI models that significantly strengthened Gmail cyber-defenses, including a new large language model (LLM) that we trained on phishing, malware, and spam,” the company explained.

The LLM alone has enhanced Gmail’s defenses by blocking 20% more spam and processing 1,000 times more user-reported spam daily.

Additionally, a new AI model introduced before Black Friday acts as a supervisory layer, evaluating hundreds of threat signals in real time and deploying appropriate protections.

Mobile network operator 9mobile has attributed the recent service outage experienced by its customers across the country to a fire incident at its main data center in Lagos.

The telecom company in a statement issued on Wednesday also apologized to its roughly three million customers.

It noted that the fire outbreak occurred on Tuesday night.

However, 9mobile’s customers have been experiencing epileptic voice and data services on the network long before that.

Acknowledging this, the telco said it had also experienced multiple fibre cuts which had led to outages before the latest development.

While noting that it was working to restore its services across the country, the telecom company in the statement said:

“9mobile sincerely apologizes for the recent service outages experienced by our valued customers which have affected our ability to provide voice, data, and internet services. We understand the frustration these disruptions have caused and deeply regret the inconvenience. 

 “Our technical team has identified the root causes of the outages including a fire incident at our Main Data Centre in Lagos last night which severely impacted services, especially in the Lagos and South-West.  We are grateful for the swift intervention of the Lagos State Fire Service, which helped prevent further damage. 

“Prior to the fire incident, our network experienced major fibre interruptions leading to varying degrees of outages. We had a fibre cut on the backbone links in Lagos which led to a total data outage across the country.” 

It added that this was followed closely by two vandalism incidents in Lagos and Abuja, leading to a total service outage in the South-West and a data service outage in the North.

The company said its services have now been fully restored in some parts of the country, which include the North and South-South States while restoration work is ongoing in others.

9mobile said it hoped to fully restore services as soon as possible

 “At 9mobile, customer satisfaction is our top priority. We value the trust you place in us and appreciate your patience and understanding during this challenging time.” It added.