Following the arrest on Monday of 792 suspected cryptocurrency fraudsters by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ESET, a global leader in digital security, has provided insights on the rising threat of online scams.
The arrest which was a sting operation by anti-graft Agency on the Big Leaf Building in Lagos, nabbed, among the Nigerians, 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian for their alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scam.
The EFCC noted that the foreign nationals used the facility, which could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters of a financial establishment, to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also used the identities of their Nigerian accomplices to perpetrate their criminal activities.
According to Director, Public Affairs, EFCC, Commander of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren: “All the floors are equipped with high-end desktop computers. On the 5th floor alone, investigators recovered 500 SIM cards of local telcos that were bought for criminal purposes.
“Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and several others from European countries.”
Reacting to the development, ESET’s managing director for West Africa, Mr. Olufemi Ake emphasised that fraudsters often use dating sites and social media to assume false identities, making it increasingly difficult to detect their deceptive tactics.
These criminals frequently employ psychological manipulation and advanced artificial intelligence to build trust with their victims, further complicating efforts to catch them.
Ake also noted that many of the Nigerian suspects involved in these fraudulent activities were unaware of the true identity of their employers, as they did not receive official letters of appointment or payments from corporate accounts.
This, he stated, highlights the need for employees to regularly vet their employers’ operations to avoid being ensnared in fraudulent schemes.
“As online criminals become more skilled at exploiting digital platforms, Ake advised individuals to remain cautious and informed to protect themselves from falling prey to increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics”, he said.
He recommended verifying identities through trusted channels, being skeptical of unsolicited investment opportunities, especially those involving cryptocurrencies, and ensuring that their devices are equipped with up-to-date cybersecurity applications. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Ake concluded.
