…AS 402 SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED IN THREE MONTHS
By Okosun Dennis
As Nigeria grows in cyber-crime-related offences, Lekki, the fast-developing upper-middle-class area of Lagos Metropolis, is emerging as the new hub of internet-related fraud.
According to data released from various investigations carried out by the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), for the 2nd quarter of 2021, indicates that Lekki District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.
In a statement signed by the Head, Media and Publicity of the agency, Wilson Uwujaren said that “between April and June 2021, the Advance Fee Fraud and Cyber Crime Sections of the Command recorded a total of 402 internet-related fraud arrests.”
While the Advance Fee Fraud Section was responsible for 243 arrests, the Cyber Crime Section executed 18 sting operations which resulted in 159 arrests, from which 13 convictions have so far been recorded.
“Of the 159 suspects arrested by the Cyber Crime Section, 70 are from Lekki, comprising communities such as Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru.
“Ajah accounted for 24 suspects, while Oniru and Sangotedo had 14 and 13 suspects respectively. Badore had eight suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic had two and one suspects each. Ikorodu and Alagbado on the Lagos Mainland make up the remainder.”
The suspects are mostly millennials, with 82 of them aged between 25-34 years, which speaks to the fact that most of the individuals arrested are either still in school, recent graduates, or university dropouts.
Analysis of the data from the Cyber Crime Section further shows that the dominant form of internet crime is Dating Scam/Online Dating Scam/Romance Scam. 64% of individuals arrested are involved in romance scams, followed closely by “Middle Man Scam” and “Picking” which account for 8% and 7% respectively of those arrested.
The 64% involv8ed in the dating scam benefitted to the tune of N8, 310,000; $349,290 USD; £ 900; €10 and Cryptocurrency 0.17513.
Other typologies of fraud identified included forgery, possession of fraudulent documents, spamming, credit card fraud, impersonation, rental scam, loan fraud, Business Email Compromise, Hacking, stealing, cheque scam, phishing, and money laundering.
The data also revealed gift cards, at 39%, as the prevalent method employed by the suspects to access their illicit funds. It is followed by bank transfers at 27% and Cryptocurrency at 21%.
A total of $12, 512.49USD was recovered from the e-wallet accounts of four suspects within the period.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/ajah-badore-vgc-sangotedo-oniru-now-heaven-for-cyber-crime/
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