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Yuletide: Tips To Avoid Being Scammed While Shopping Online

Published

4 years ago

December 16, 2021

Yuletide comes with a lot of activities. The season of festivities is usually characterised by shopping, travelling, and lots of merriment.

For ease of buying, you may need to shop online. However, it is pertinent to stay safe while shopping online during Yuletide celebrations

In this piece, The PUNCH highlights six tips to help a shopper avoid being scammed while shopping online.

Patronise Authentic Vendors

For online shopping, patronise authentic vendors. Avoid pop-up ads which may contain malware. It is advisable to visit a trusted e-commerce site or online shopping website.

Before purchase, check if it is indeed a real company or authentic vendor. When in doubt, you can look up the name, company name, address, contacts, etc.

Beware Of Offers That Are Too Tempting Un Terms Of Price

It is not uncommon to be drawn to particularly low prices on the Internet.

Unfortunately, this is sometimes the starting point for scams. Before even thinking about buying your product, consider comparing its price on different websites.

After making these comparisons, if the offer seems too good to be true, it is recommended that you do not proceed with the purchase of the product.

Read Reviews To Check Authenticity

The experience of other Internet users can also enlighten you. To get this, you can simply type in your search engine the name of the site or the seller, possibly associated with the term “scam”.

This will allow you to check if other buyers have had bad experiences with the seller in the past.

Don’t Share Sensitive Information

Avoid sharing sensitive information such as debit card number, bank verification number, and transaction PIN.

For deliveries, be sure you trust the company before giving out your exact address. When in doubt, you can select an open location (eatery, park, malls, etc) to receive your package.

Secure Your Payment

When paying, check that the site you are on is secure. The site address should start with “https: //” with a closed padlock at the top of the browser window.

It is also recommended to ask your bank to set up a double precaution to make your purchase. It could be a confirmation via your bank’s mobile application or a code (One Time Password) received by SMS.

For transactions between individuals, choose sites offering a guarantee, meet your interlocutor physically, demand payment in cash, and request a tracked shipment.

Read The General Conditions Of Sale Carefully

This is all the information communicated by a seller to his client before the sale of a good. All e-commerce sites and online stores have an obligation to communicate with them.

This information may appear as pop-ups or at the bottom of the page. Though they may seem long and boring, it is advised that you read them to avoid being scammed.

Online shopping sites may offer you to save your bank details so that you do not have to enter them again during another purchase. You are advised against accepting because the security of bank data is not always guaranteed.

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TikTok Bans 49,512 Live Sessions In Nigeria As Creators Stream Sex Romps

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Editor

For the first time, TikTok has shared data on its enforcement of Live Monetization guidelines, following a surge in users going live during sexual activity. The platform released the figures during its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, held in partnership with AfricTivistes.

In the second quarter of 2025, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetization, against 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating its Live Monetization guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 Live sessions were banned during the same period.

The Summit brought together senior government officials, policy experts, NGOs, regulators, media representatives, and industry leaders from West African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Delegates discussed strategies to strengthen user protection and content moderation frameworks tailored to regional challenges.

The event marked a pivotal moment for TikTok’s regional safety efforts and its commitment to upholding global safety standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts shared insights, examined online safety challenges, and explored collaborative measures under TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative.

TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Duduzile Mkhize, emphasized the platform’s commitment to enhancing user security through stakeholder collaboration.

She stated: “While global, we remain hyper-local in our day-to-day efforts. The dialogue at this Summit is invaluable because only through insights sharing and collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.

“United action can help us guarantee a safe space for our community to discover, create, and connect responsibly.”

A key partner in this effort is Nigeria’s Dr. Akinola Olojo, expert on preventing and countering violent extremism, and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

He said: “The convening of various stakeholders in Dakar, sharing insights for collaborative action, proves that the work we do alongside TikTok is not in vain.

“We must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities to resist radicalization and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos in the same quarter, representing just 0.7% of all content uploaded. Of these, 163.9 million were flagged by AI-driven moderation systems.

Notably, 99.1% of removals were detected proactively, and 94.4% were taken down within 24 hours. The platform also removed 76,991,660 fake accounts, alongside 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13.

In Nigeria, TikTok removed 3,780,426 videos between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines. Impressively, 98.7% were removed before being viewed, and 91.9% were taken down within 24 hours.

The data, released in TikTok’s Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscores the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe digital space for its users.

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Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

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Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.