Police Nab Suspect Over Identity Theft, N5.7m Online Fraud

By Ruth Nwokwu

The Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has arrested a suspect over alleged identity theft, obtaining by false pretence, money laundering and a N5.7 million computer-related fraud.

The Acting Police Public Liaison Officer of the NPF-NCCC, DSP Unwana Imah, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

According to him, the arrest followed a petition from a university lecturer based in Akwa Ibom State who was defrauded after responding to an online advertisement for household items.

The complainant reportedly came across the advert on a Facebook “declutter” page operating under the name “SHOPHOUSEHOLDITEMS” in March and proceeded to engage the seller.

“The seller moved negotiations to WhatsApp, where the complainant was induced to make a total payment of N5.7 million,” Imah said.

He explained that the funds were transferred into multiple fintech accounts, after which the victim was blocked and the advertised goods were never delivered, while the fraudulent Facebook page was subsequently abandoned.

Following receipt of the petition, the NPF-NCCC said it deployed technical intelligence and worked with Meta Inc. to trace the account used to operate the fake page.

“Upon receipt of the petition, NPF-NCCC through technical assets and cooperation from Meta Inc, identified the owner of the account that was used to host the fraudulent page,” he stated.

The suspect was later tracked to Katsina State, where he was arrested, with the stolen funds reportedly recovered.

Imah said investigation into the case is ongoing, adding that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olatunji Disu, remains committed to tackling cybercrime and protecting citizens from online fraud.

He advised members of the public to exercise caution in online transactions, urging them to verify sellers properly and avoid making advance payments to unverified accounts.