Popular Internet Scams in Nigeria
Cyber crimes in Nigeria is a menace just as obtained in most parts of the world. To be discussed in this article is major online internet scams in Nigeria.
Internet and technology has been used to achieve many feats which ordinarily would have been tasky.
Today’s world revolves around internet and technology.
Communications, finance, health and education have all been the aided by internet and technology.
However, despite all these positive and developments from technology and internet, the new technology is not without a defect.
One of the major defects of internet and technology currently is cyber crimes.
Internet has been manipulated by few as tool for crimes and criminals activities.
One of the major internet crime of the decade is internet or online financial crimes.
With a smart phone and data, one can hack into another’s financial details and rip them off their earnings.
This is a global phenomenon and Nigeria has a fair share of it. Internet and online crimes in Nigeria is gaining more attention.
The financial crime police, EFCC in recent times have been making arrests in numbers of those involved in internet scams in Nigeria.
Internet scam in Nigeria is most prevalent among the youths of Nigeria.
Many have attributed this to the high volume of unemployment in Nigeria.
Nevertheless, nothing justifies a crime and not even an online or internet crime in Nigeria.
In this post, we will posting some popular internet and online scams in Nigeria.
Many Nigerians has loosed their hard earned money to these cyber crimes in Nigeria.
Most worrisome of all the internet and online scams in Nigeria are those targeted at elderly and people of old age.
This article is aimed towards reawakening Nigerians consciousness of some tricks and signs of internet and online crimes cum scams in Nigeria.
List of Major Online Scams in Nigeria
Internet scams in Nigeria are becoming more daring.
Some perpetrators of these scams are becoming more bold and employing services of popular faces and celebrities to rip off their victims.
On September 2020,Nigeria’s telecommunication regulatory company, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) issued a warning to Nigerians about the high rise in internet and online scam in Nigeria.
The agency charged the people to be conscious of what they do online and on the internet especially with persons who aren’t family and friends.
Below are some top and popular internet scams in Nigeria.
Calls From Bank Official
This is one of the most popular online scams in Nigeria Currently.
This type of online scam is most targeted at elderly people and pensioners.
Scam goes this way; victim gets a call from persons claiming to be his or her account officer asking for the victims ATM card details so as to fix his account and his ATM card operation.
Ponzi Schemes (Money Doublers)
Another top internet and online scam that is very prevalent in Nigeria is ponzi schemes.
These are money doubling agents that usually promised to return certain percent of money paid to their platforms in shortest possible time.
In most cases, ponzi schemes in Nigeria usually engage service of celebrities and well-known personalities who endorses the scheme and help lure victims.
Investment Companies Scams
Investment companies scam in Nigeria is on rise.
It is one of the well-known scams currently going on in Nigeria.
Here some shady companies claims to have big assets and needs investors to help grow the company to even higher level while in return investors gets as high as 50% of their investments funds.
In most cases, the propagators of these companies vanishes after collecting huge sums from publics.
Aid / Hospital Support
Aid and hospital support scam in Nigeria is real. It is among top online and internet scams in Nigeria presently.
This is a situation where people post pictures of ailing people and solicit for public support financial towards treatment and hospital bills of those on the picture.
While we acknowledge that there are some genuine cases of aids and hospital support cases online, criminals are also using the format to scam people of their earnings.
Employment Offer
Employment scam in Nigeria is also on the rise.
Criminals are taking advantage of high rate of unemployment in Nigeria to commit cyber crimes using internet.
Here the culprits calls and assuring victims of their ability offer them employment in top government agencies for a sum.
They go as far as printing fake offer letters to induce their victims.
They also ask their accomplices to call victims while claiming to be holding different positions in the government agency supposed to be employing.
Cryptocurrency Scam
Cryptocurrency otherwise known as digital money is sweeping across the globe at the moment.
In Africa, Nigeria is at the center of it. While many Nigerians are in to crypto trading, large population of the country barely understands what the whole thing entails.
People are being charged and duped with promise of procuring and trading digital money on their behalf.
The name bitcoin to most Nigerian simply means financial breakthrough.
People with very little knowledge of Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, dogecoin, etherum who entrust others to trade on these on their behalf are very likely to loose their monies spent on the crypto.