Reps probe breach of privacy, identity theft of telecom subscribers

The House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated its committees on Telecommunications and Banking and Currency to look into the cases of telecommunications subscribers who have fallen victims to breach of privacy and identity theft and report back within four weeks.

The committee is to also identify inadequacies in the relevant regulatory frameworks and proffer solutions.

• NIGERIA DAILY: Real Reason For Setting Up Investigative Committees In Nigeria
• Religious manipulation reason for conflict in Nigeria – Minister

The House’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion on the “need to protect telephone subscribers from breach of privacy, fraud and loss of money by Rep Olusola Steve Fatoba (Ekiti, APC)

Fatoba, in his motion, noted that in line with the regulations of the Nigerian Communications Commission on dormant or inactive lines, telecommunication companies have the right and may reassign SIM cards and phone numbers once they are inactive for some time without recourse to the previous owners, so long as they remain inactive for a set period.

He said; “pursuant to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Act, the Consumer Protection Framework was enacted with provisions that prohibit financial institutions from disclosing customers’ personal information and further require that financial institutions have appropriate data protection measures and staff training programs in place to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, accidental loss and or destruction of customer data.”

Fatoba however expressed concerns that in spite of the existence of regulatory frameworks, the occurrence of breach of privacy, cases of fraud and loss of money still abound.

He said that “many Nigerians have fallen victims to illegal and unauthorized deductions of funds from their bank accounts because their financial institutions keep sending their bank account transaction details to their hitherto phone numbers which have been reassigned to new subscribers, thus, opening a dangerous window for fraudulent activities.”

He said that a large number of bank account owners and telephone subscribers in Nigeria are not aware of privacy issues and data protection, and as such, are vulnerable and could easily fall prey to identity theft and other nefarious activities of fraudsters.