Association raises alarm over activities of internet fraudsters in Nigeria

The Naval Officer’s Wives Association (NOWA) has expressed concern over the rising spate of internet fraudsters in the country, popularly known as Yahoo Boys.

Mrs Ebi Gbassa, Zonal Director of NOWA, Port Harcourt Zone, said this at a workshop organised by NOWA which was held at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder in Port Harcourt.

The workshop with the theme, “Online Fraud and Counter Measures,” sought to expose NOWA members to the activities of scammers.

“These days, the scams, which are conducted mostly online via email addresses and messaging apps, are often referred to as Yahoo Yahoo.’’

Gbassa said it was reaching an “epidemic proportions”, as many of the group’s members had fallen victim to fraudsters, who see women as soft targets.

She said the exercise had become imperative as many women had fallen victim to fraudsters, hence, the decision of NOWA’s National President, Hajiya Nana Gambo to create awareness.

“The essence of this lecture is to expose our members to the workings of fraudsters and to avoid falling victim to scammers.

“The training is timely due to what our women have been going through in the hands of fraudsters who see them as soft targets compared to their male counterparts.

“Nigerian internet fraud has become ‘something huge and fraudsters continue to design new ways of working on customers’ vulnerabilities, the government needs to prosecute offenders and deter fraud in the future,” she said.

Gbassa called on the Federal Government to tackle the menace by creating jobs for unemployed youths to dissuade them from going into crime.

Kingsley Nzewuji, the Director of Operations, Metaforce Technologies Nigeria, who delivered the lecture, said many Nigerians lose money transacting online.

He attributed the rising activities of internet scammers in the country to the increasing dependence of Nigerians to pay for goods and services virtually.

According to him, Nigeria is not the only country faced with the rising menace as many countries are also suffering from the same threat.

“The cashless system by the government is a laudable initiative, as it has simplified and made life easy for people to transact their business without hassles.

“However, fraudsters are equally taking advantage of some of the lapses in the system, especially as many users lack knowledge to transact securely to avoid being swindled.

“So, the essence of this lecture is to expose the people to how fraudsters operate, and also how to stay safe in running their day-to-day businesses.’’

One of the participants, Mrs Chidinma Ihejichukwu said the workshop had taught them how to manage their social media accounts and methods to block their bank accounts upon loss of their ATM cards.

According to her, it has also taught them how to detect phishing websites and fake mobile applications; how to secure mobile phones and SIM cards, and how to develop strong passwords for emails, among others.

“We were also shown techniques on how to verify information sent to our mobile devices before acting on it.

“The knowledge we have acquired today will enable us not to fall prey to the antics of fraudsters, and so, we thank NOWA for organising this training,” she added.