The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alerted Nigerians about a new scam that tricks people using fake airline ticket discount offers.
EFCC explained in a statement on Friday that the scheme involves the use of malware to gain unauthorised access to the account information of unsuspecting victims.
Teasers like “ Promo”, “ Investment Windows” and other baits are usually employed to make their victims volunteer
their account information, through which fraudsters execute transactions on their behalf by sending their funds to accounts mainly in Fintech Institutions, the anti-graft agency added.
EFCC noted that through this access, fraudsters then control and launder the funds through the purchase of cryptocurrencies.
“A case in point was a “Promo” offering the public 50% discount of ticket purchase in a leading foreign airline. Victims are led to pay a token of N500 into the account of the airline. The N500 payment which is now dressed as Charity payment is the leeway through which the fraudsters gain access to their victim’s personal information,” EFCC stated.
“The victims were deceived into downloading the App of the airline to be eligible for the discount. However, after downloading the App and gaining unauthorized access to their personal details, funds were moved from the victim’s bank account into an account in a Microfinance Bank.”
EFCC added that the scam is largely driven by “an army of young Nigerians” who call themselves “Account Suppliers” or “KYC Group.”
The scammers offer a paltry payment of between N1500 and N2000 to their victims to make them surrender a copy of their personal information details to them and sell the same information to some Fintech Institutions for about N5000, according to EFCC.
EFCC estimates there are about 12,000 such actors across the country seeking account donors willing to surrender
NIN registration slips, BVNs, passport photos, and other identification documents for a small fee.
These details are then used to open accounts with fintech firms, which are exploited for investment scams and other fraudulent activities, EFCC added.
The Commission confirmed that arrests have been made and efforts to recover lost funds are ongoing but warned the public to be wary of these actors.
“On no account should any Nigerian agree to be an Account Donor for any purpose, as this is a threat to national security.”
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