Nigerian police have arrested a suspect accused of defrauding an American woman of $597,000 in an elaborate online romance scam, recovering eight BMW vehicles believed to have been purchased with the criminal proceeds, authorities announced Thursday.
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The suspect, who posed as an American citizen online, allegedly targeted Deborah Woods and other women through dating websites, according to Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police Olumuyiwa Adejobi. Multiple electronic devices used in the fraud were seized during the arrest.
In a parallel operation, police apprehended two additional suspects connected to an over N400 million financial account fraud scheme. The suspects, recruited through Telegram by an overseas cybercriminal, allegedly created fraudulent Moniepoint financial profiles using pre-registered SIM cards and manipulated Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications.
“Both suspects had confessed to the crimes and revealed that they received payments in cryptocurrency for their services,” Adejobi said at a news conference in Abuja. The suspects now face prosecution at a Federal High Court for computer-related fraud, impersonation, and criminal conspiracy.
The arrests are part of a broader crackdown on cybercrime by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC). In January alone, the police arrested 84 suspects for cyber-related offences – 32 through the NPF-NCCC and 52 through the Police Special Fraud Unit in Lagos.
Adejobi attributed the success to Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s commitment to improving Nigeria’s international reputation by combating cybercrime. Investigations are ongoing to identify additional victims and recover more criminal proceeds.
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