The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 402 internet fraudsters in Lekki area of Lagos in the last three months.
The commission said Lekki area of Lagos State is becoming the new hub for internet-related fraud.
EFCC said this in a statement on its verified Facebook page on Friday.
The anti-graft agency sighted data from its investigation activities of its Lagos command for the second quarter of 2021 which indicated that Lekki district is the preferred location for cyber fraud syndicates.
The command in its statistics noted that it made 402 arrests most of whom were millennials between 25-34 years old.
Also, EFCC noted that the form of cybercrime dominant are online dating/romance scam which accounts for 64 percent followed by ‘Middle Man scam’ and ‘Picking scam’ accounting for 8% and 7% respectively.
Other type of fraud the anti-graft highlighted are forgery, possession of fraudulent documents, spamming, credit card fraud, impersonation, rental scam, loan fraud among others.
EFCC revealed that gift cards was the most prevalent way suspects access illicit funds followed by bank transfers 27% and Cryptocurrency at 21.
They noted that $12,512 was recovered from suspects e-wallet in the second quarter of the year.
EFCC’s full statement;
Lekki, the fast-developing upper middle-class area of Lagos Metropolis, is emerging as the new hub of internet-related fraud. Data from the investigation activities of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for the second quarter of 2021, indicates that Lekki District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.
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 8 suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic had 2 and one suspect 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. Sixty-Four percent (64%) of individuals arrested are involved in romance scam, followed closely by “Middle Man Scam” and “Picking” which account for 8% and 7% respectively of those arrested.
The 64% involved 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 include 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 reveals 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.
