Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Criminals selling BVN, NIN, TIN, passport, licence details of Nigerians for N100 across online black markets: Report

The website claims to verify Nigerians’ Permanent Voter Card (PVC), National Identification Number, BVN, or TIN for anyone willing to pay N100.

• June 21, 2024
Nigerian passports
Nigerian passports

It has come to light that criminals are selling Nigerians’ sensitive data on government-issued documents, such as passport numbers, bank verification numbers, tax identification numbers, and driver’s licences, for as little as N100 online.

The Paradigm Initiative (PIN) filed a lawsuit against Anyverify, a website that claims to verify the Permanent Voter Card (PVC), National Identification Number, BVN, or TIN, of Nigerians to anyone willing to pay N100. The website, opened November 2023, lacks authorisation to verify and share citizens’ details.

Each request for verification costs N100, and the website has enjoyed huge visibility as it was visited  567,990 times in February and 188,360 times in April.

It is unclear how Anyverify, unaffiliated with any government ministry, got access to the classified data of hundreds of millions of Nigerians to the point of monetising it.

PIN deemed the information sale an affront and a breach of the privacy of Nigerians who trusted the government institutions enough to keep their sensitive details safe.

The initiative was concerned that Nigerians’ information getting hawked on an unauthorised platform could aid kidnappers and internet fraudsters to commit crimes that could threaten national security.

The PIN is seeking an order directing a thorough investigation and publication of findings into Anyverify’s activities and an order for all affected government agencies to compensate persons whose data was leaked.

The initiative also sought a court order mandating all government institutions to adopt technical measures to secure citizens’ sensitive data.

PIN has sent pre-action notice to concerned government agencies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi (MOAUM)

States

Benue varsity ASUU suspends seven-week strike

ASUU-MOAUM commenced an indefinite strike on June 1 over unresolved welfare and governance issues. 

Olushola Yusuf

Anti-Corruption

Nigerian pharmacist Olushola Yusuf convicted of drug trafficking, flooding Florida community with 335,000 oxycodone pills

Ms Yusuf charged “extraordinary cash prices, served drug dealers and customers who travelled long distances, and put profit ahead of patients”.

three suspected cultists

Heading 2

Police nab three suspected cultists in Lagos

The command’s spokesperson said the suspects were arrested following credible information from members of the public. 

EBONYI STATE LOGO

States

Ebonyi government enforces strict regulations on mining

Mr Nkah warned the operators in the state that the government would no longer tolerate environmental degradation. 

FRSC personnel on highway

States

FRSC commences special operation to check road crashes in Ebonyi

Mr Asanya said that the operation would last from July 21 to July 23, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cyber fraudster

Anti-Corruption

U.S. indicts Okeoghene Udugba for money laundering, defrauding FWS

The U.S.-based Nigerian, Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, 45, of Frisco, Texas, was indicted by a federal grand jury.