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Country steps up crackdown connected online scammers, who lure victims utilizing promises of romance to put successful fake cryptocurrency investments.
Published On 22 Aug 2025
Nigeria has deported 102 overseas nationals, including 60 Chinese and 39 radical from the Philippines, who were convicted of “cyber-terrorism and net fraud”, according to the country’s anticorruption agency.
The announcement by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) connected Thursday comes arsenic the state steps up a crackdown connected online scam operations, which lured victims done online romances to manus implicit currency for fake cryptocurrency investments.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale aboriginal told the AFP quality bureau that different radical of 39 Filipinos, 10 Chinese and 2 radical from Kazakhstan had besides been deported since August 15.
More deportations were besides scheduled successful the coming days, helium added.
The anticorruption bureau released pictures of Asian men wearing surgical look masks, lined up astatine airdrome check-in counters.
The deportees were among 792 suspected cybercriminals arrested successful a azygous cognition successful the affluent Victoria Island country of Lagos successful December. At slightest 192 of those arrested were overseas nationals, of whom 148 were Chinese, the EFCC said.
Nigeria, Africa’s astir populous country, has a estimation for net fraudsters known successful section slang arsenic “Yahoo Boys”, and the EFCC has busted respective hideouts wherever young transgression suspects larn online scamming skills.
According to the agency, overseas gangs enlistee Nigerian accomplices to find victims online done phishing scams. The attackers typically effort to deceive victims into transferring wealth oregon revealing delicate accusation specified arsenic passwords to accounts.
The scams people mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans and Europeans, the EFCC said.
Experts accidental the fraudulent concern schemes utilized by cyber-scammers person go progressively blase and dynamic arsenic they leverage the latest technologies and integer tools.
The schemes yet permission victims – galore of whom put their savings, concern capital, and borrowed wealth – incapable to bash thing but ticker their hard-earned wealth disappear.
Experts besides pass that overseas “cybercrime syndicates” person acceptable up store successful Nigeria to exploit its anemic cybersecurity systems.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
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