The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has arrested a suspect accused of defrauding an American woman of $597,000 through an online romance scam.
Police spokesperson ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.
He explained that the suspect had assumed a false identity as an American citizen to deceive and exploit unsuspecting victims, particularly women, through online romance fraud.
Following an intelligence-led operation, the suspect was apprehended and reportedly confessed to scamming Deborah Woods, an American national, of nearly $600,000.
A search of his residence led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices used in the fraudulent activities. Additionally, eight BMW vehicles, suspected to be proceeds of the crime, were recovered and placed in police custody as evidence.
Authorities are now working to trace and identify other potential victims.
The police also arrested two suspects involved in creating and distributing compromised financial accounts, which were allegedly used to facilitate fraudulent transactions
exceeding ₦400 million.
Investigations revealed that the suspects were recruited via Telegram by an unidentified foreign cybercriminal..
Their role was to create financial profiles using pre-registered SIM cards and email addresses, which were then distributed to accomplices across various states for Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.
One of the suspects was responsible for collecting KYC details and fraudulently obtaining Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) from individuals, which were then used to upgrade the compromised accounts to Tier 5 verification.
Mr. Adejobi noted that in January alone, the Nigeria Police Force arrested a total of 84 individuals for cyber-related crimes.
This included 32 suspects apprehended by the NPF-NCCC and 52 arrested by the Police Special Fraud Unit in Lagos.
He attributed these successes to the proactive measures of Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, aimed at combating cybercrime and restoring Nigeria’s reputation in the global financial space.
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