Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended 792 individuals for alleged involvement in a widespread cryptocurrency romance scam.
According to a report by Reuters, On December 10, authorities raided a building in Lagos believed to be a hub for the fraudulent activities.
Wilson Uwujaren, a spokesperson for the EFCC, highlighted that a total of 148 Chinese nationals and 40 Filipinos were among those detained. The scheme’s masterminds recruited Nigerian accomplices to lure victims through phishing tactics, primarily targeting individuals in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and various European countries.
“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,”
Uwujaren said.
“Once the Nigerians can win the confidence of would-be victims, the foreigners would take over the actual task of defrauding the victims.”
The scheme used tactics associated with “pig butchering” scams, where fraudsters create fake online identities to deceive victims, often posing as romantic partners or cryptocurrency advisors. After building trust, they manipulate victims into transferring funds under pretences.
Crypto scams are not confined to Nigeria but are rapidly becoming a global issue. Similarly, Federal prosecutors in North Carolina recently moved to confiscate nearly $5 million in Tether (USDT) recovered from unhosted wallets connected to a sophisticated cryptocurrency romance scam. The funds were seized under a search warrant in August and are currently held by the U.S. Marshal Service.
The FBI has revealed that at least 71 individuals fell victim to this scam, including a 60-year-old from North Carolina and an 83-year-old from Minnesota. Fraudsters posed as romantic interests on platforms like WhatsApp, luring victims into investing in a fake trading platform called Bitkanant, which mimicked the legitimate Singapore-based Bitkan exchange. Victims transferred USDT to wallets controlled by the scammers, believing they were making lucrative investments.
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