NYSC member finds employment
in bulk SMS
By IFEOMA ENECHUKWU
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The NYSC service year has been exploited by many Nigerian
youths as a period of self-discovery when many either ruin
their chances or find their bearing to the future, especially
in career.
Akinyele Olubodun, a corper in Owerri, Imo State is like one
of the minority breed that is using the one-year service period
as a time to discover the direction to take after service.
He told Saturday Sun ho he has been making waves and forging
ahead with life in making a living and a career in bulk SMS
business.
Olubodun is not a graduate of Computer Science, he studied
Mathematics and allied courses, but even in the university,
he has a major interest in Computer Science, and expanded
his views on that by taking most of his elective course in
the department. That paid him good dividends as he added what
he got from the course to his natural interest in the sector.
Today, what he gathered, even peripherally, his ability to
exploit the Internet database advantage has given further
pep to his natural inclination to computer knowledge. Today,
Olubodun has elevated what started as a hobby in computer
tinkering is blossoming into a means of sustenance. He is
already elevating the venture into what will give him the
opportunity to turn an employer of labour after service instead
of hanging around for job and livelihood.
He was emphatic when he said in the interview “I want
to be an employer of labour through IT practice. It has been
the passion of my life from childhood to be a creator of jobs,
and I have the feeling the IT project will avail me that opportunity.
Today, I handle job concerns for companies, even big firms
like banks that reach their audience via bulk SMS. I handle
the sending of this job through my website, and because it
is website-based, it is prone to hackers intrusion”.
For the IT sector and the fraud that dampens the efforts of
players, Olubodun advised that: “They need to do more
because there is IT fraud all over the world. But in advanced
worlds, the best experts do is to keep updating themselves
so that hackers don’t overtake them. It is a continuous
challenge. The banks especially should keep improving on their
software until they get it right.
The alarming situation is that most of the fraud software
used to frustrate business and cause crime as bought form
outside Nigeria and not written here”.
But the NYSC member is not too happy with the government for
not doing much to encourage computer and IT education and
awareness in Nigeria. “The facebook in US that is the
rave today exists in Nigeria and as advanced, but we don’t
have real access to computers and the Internet and many don’t
know of it. we have a system where the government encourages
better computer awareness as it applies in many countries
in the world, the appreciation will be better, we will have
more people whjo will make genuine livelihood through the
sector as experts.
“The only area where we have done well from the government
policy of online registration for examinations and the NYSC
programme. Because registration for exams is now online based,
candidates for them are compelled somehow get acquainted with
computers and the Internet”.
Tips to detect scam SMS
Because Olubodun has interest of making a living from SMS,
he has interest in checking the fraudsters from encroaching
on the sector.
He obliged Saturday Sun a piece he wrote on how to detect
fraudulent SMS to your phones.
Fraudulent messages are meant to scam ignorant and greedy
victims since it promises fantastic and unimaginable rewards.
It is easy to detect one by following these six simple steps:
Expect an official call
When you win a prize, the company you won a prize from is
meant to call you about your entries and luck. You are not
expected to be calling them to know the status or trying to
make yourself familiar with the company. When you are called,
most times your name will be mentioned; showing authenticity.
You will be given appointment in one of their offices (most
times headquarters’) and not a restaurant, eatery or
open space.
No monetary value attached
You don’t redeem prizes with money. When you are asked
to send a particular amount or you are asked to transfer some
amount of credit to a number; you had better know that this
is a sign of scam.
Note the sender number
A true company should not use a personal number to send text
to her winners. They rather use a customized text messaging
platform to achieve this motive so you can see their name
as the sender.
Check the message center number
Most of these scammers that use personal phone numbers to
send text messages are now taking advantage of the unsecured
bulk SMS sites to send customized SMS that purport reality
to their victims. It is then paramount to note the center
number is coming from.
All promos are publicized
Most promotions are publicized so that subscribers or members
can be aware. Scam is the brain behind secret promos. All
text messages you receive that do not confirm a promotion
publicity you’ve read in the newspaper, heard on the
radio or watched on the TVs are scams. Remember, the five
conditions above must apply before you must trust a publicized
promotion because fraudsters take advantage of events and
opportunities.
Above all
The most important point to note is never to be carried away
with entries you never put in for and you are getting alerts
of winning. Main target of scams are the greedy. Be watchful,
fraudulent messages fly everywhere.
|
