15 January 2025 , 14:46
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Nigerian authorities bust a sophisticated internet fraud scheme targeting mostly UK residents through fake hotel bookings.
Nigerian authorities have dismantled a fake hotel review syndicate and arrested four Chinese nationals and 101 Nigerians for their roles in the elaborate internet fraud scheme, reported by OCCRP.
Victims were allegedly first lured into rating hotels in exchange for small sums of money. Eventually they would be encouraged to make bookings in any of the rated hotels for as much as $500. They were told that the company would pay them back with chunky interest into a crypto wallet bearing their names. However, the victims would in the end not be able to open the wallet.
The country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced that the suspects operated out of Naka Hall Plaza on Abutu Garba Street in Gudu, Abuja, where agents recovered 100 compact workstations.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale said the suspects used fake foreign identities to target unsuspecting victims, primarily U.K. residents.
Authorities said the criminal network was allegedly led by the Chinese nationals, who recruited and trained Nigerian youths with advanced technical skills to act as customer service representatives. These representatives followed a predesigned script to deceive their victims online.
The operation follows a separate crackdown weeks earlier, in which 792 suspects — including 148 Chinese nationals — were arrested for involvement in cryptocurrency and romance scams.
The foreign nationals allegedly used corporate apartments disguised as business centers to train their Nigerian accomplices. These accomplices were reportedly taught to initiate romance and investment scams and use their own identities to carry out fraudulent activities.
The EFCC also highlighted a concerning trend of foreign nationals instructing Nigerians in internet-related crimes.