The Gospel of Cyber Security

A quick thank you to everyone who showed love on the launch teaser of my upcoming book, The Gospel of Cyber Security. Your support means everything to me.

While getting ready for the release, a real-life situation happened in Nigeria this week that shows exactly why understanding digital defense is no longer optional.

Imagine you are driving home from work, tired from Lagos traffic, and your phone buzzes.

It is an SMS claiming to be from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The message tells you that a traffic violation has been logged against your car. It gives you a link and says you must clear the fine immediately.

Curious and a bit alarmed, you click the link.

The website looks official. It has the agency logos, clean formatting, and a form asking for your details. When you check the penalty, it is surprisingly small — just ₦2,500.

Most people in that situation breathe a sigh of relief. You think:

"Thank God it's only ₦2,500. Let me just pay this right now with my card and get it out of the way before someone stops me on the road."

You pull out your debit card, type in your numbers, and input the OTP sent to your phone.

A few seconds later, your phone buzzes again. But it is not a receipt for ₦2,500.

It is a debit alert for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Naira. Your balance is drained.

This exact nightmare played out for several Nigerians this week.

Scammers set up a fake website that looked just like the FRSC portal and blasted thousands of unsolicited texts claiming people had committed traffic offences.

Because the fake fine was tiny, just ₦2,500 or ₦5,000 , victims didn't suspect a thing. But the scammers weren't after the small fee. They set up the form to harvest card numbers, CVVs, and one-time passwords.

The losses were massive:

(i) Actor Adekanla Desalu reportedly lost about $2,500 trying to clear a simple ₦2,500 penalty.

(ii) Comedian MC Monica authorized a ₦5,000 fee, only to lose around ₦1.85 million.

(iii) Actress Eva Ibiam fell for the trap and lost over ₦400,000.

These people are smart, hardworking individuals. They weren't hacked by complicated code or movie-style computer viruses. They were caught by a simple human trick: panic and urgency.

In my upcoming book, The Gospel of Cyber Security, I talk about the dangerous lies we tell ourselves every day.

The biggest lie is: "I'm too small to be a target."

We assume hackers only hunt for politicians, high-tech firms, or big banks. But to a scammer, you don't need to be wealthy. If you have a phone, a bank card, and a distracted moment, you are an open gate.

They don't kick down the front door; they simply ask you to unlock it by playing on your fears.

Think back to the earliest deception in Eden. The adversary didn't break in with raw force. He used a conversation, played on curiosity, and looked for a vulnerability.

Fast-forward to today, and only the gadgets have changed. The trick remains the same.

The FRSC has already sounded the alarm: never click links inside text messages claiming you owe a road fine. Official bodies don't resolve traffic matters through random SMS links, and their real toll-free line is 122.

If an unsolicited message demands urgent money, pause. Breathe. Don't let panic control you.

Technology builds our bank apps, but discernment guards the door.

The Gospel of Cyber Security: Faith, Fallacy, and the Art of Defense drops in just a few days.

Stay vigilant, protect your gates, and verify before you click. 🛡️