Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency announced the arrest of 792 individuals during a raid on a building suspected to be a center for fraudsters who deceived victims with romantic advances, subsequently coercing them into investing money in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
Among those apprehended on December 10 at the seven-story Big Leaf Building in Lagos, the country’s commercial hub, were 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, according to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren.
The upscale facility operated a call center primarily targeting individuals from the Americas and Europe, Uwujaren noted.
Employees at the center would reach out to potential victims via social media and messaging applications, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, enticing them with romantic interactions or seemingly profitable investment opportunities, he explained to the media.
Once victims were engaged, they faced pressure to send money for fictitious cryptocurrency investments and other non-existent ventures.
“Nigerian accomplices were enlisted by foreign masterminds to seek out victims online through phishing, primarily focusing on Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and various European nationals,” Uwujaren stated.
“After the Nigerians gained the trust of potential victims, the foreign operatives would take over the actual defrauding process,” he added.
Uwujaren mentioned that the Commission is working with international partners to investigate possible connections to organized crime. During the raid, agents confiscated computers, mobile phones, and vehicles.
