NIGERIA GOVERNMENT ARRESTS 792 PEOPLE INVOLVED IN CRYPTO ROMANCE SCAMS!

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made a massive crackdown on crypto romance scams, arresting 792 people, including 193 foreigners, in a single operation.

The suspects, comprising 148 Chinese nationals and 40 Filipinos, were arrested on December 10, 2024, at the "Big Leaf Building" in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub.

The EFCC discovered that the building was being used as a call center for orchestrating sophisticated online fraud schemes, targeting victims across Europe and the Americas. The suspects used social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram to lure victims into fake investment opportunities or romance scams, with cryptocurrency being a primary tool of deception.

The EFCC spokesperson revealed that Nigerian accomplices were recruited by foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and Europeans.

Once the Nigerians gained the victims' trust, the foreigners would take over, defrauding the victims.

The operation seized computers, phones, and vehicles, and the EFCC is collaborating with international partners to investigate potential links to organized crime. This crackdown is part of Nigeria's efforts to combat crypto-related crimes, which have been on the rise due to the country's high rate of crypto adoption.