NIMC Warns of Rising Fraud as Nigerians Sell Personal Data to Scammers

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has raised concerns over a growing fraud scheme where Nigerians are selling their National Identification Numbers (NINs) to scammers for small payments.

The agency’s statement follows recent findings by the EFCC, which revealed that more than 2,000 people had sold their personal data for between ₦1,500 and ₦2,000. The scammers reportedly resell this data to fintech firms for up to ₦5,000.

NIMC’s spokesperson, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, said the trend poses a serious national security threat. He made it clear that NIMC will not be responsible for any issues arising from individuals willingly disclosing their NINs.

He urged Nigerians to treat their NINs with the same confidentiality as bank PINs and encouraged the public to use the NINAuth app to manage their digital identity securely.