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Nigerian fraudsters continue to rip off foolish Sri Lankans
Smooth-talking, Nigerians notorious for online fraud the world over are continuing to fleece millions from greedy, gullible Sri Lankans who never even meet these African Facebook “friends’’ in person.
These Nigerians groom their potential Sri Lankan victims online for months before they pounce.
Some of these Nigerian fraudsters are living in Sri Lanka as “students’’ and they bait especially women using fake Facebook accounts.
Nigerian fraudsters operate not just as individuals but also as a part of international crime syndicates. Some have been busted in Malaysia. These Nigerians con artists maintain bases in Asian countries. In June last year, Nigerian email fraudster David Chukwuneke Adindu, 29, who was prosecuted in the United States, was revealed to have also lived in southern Guangzhou in China.
In the latest incident in Sri Lanka, two Nigerian students were arrested last week after they cheated a mother and daughter, and a couple for a total of Rs 1.1 million.
The two Nigerians were arrested through the help of a drug addict who had assisted the Africans to use his bank account and collect the money from the unsuspecting victims.
A senior CID officer said the Nigerians had set up a Facebook account masquerading as a British lecturer in the UK. A Sri Lankan school-girl had joined his group of friends via Facebook.
During nearly eight months communication the fake account holder had gathered the personal information of the girl and her mother and about the girl’s plans to enrol in a master’s degree course. The Nigerian fraudster had claimed he could help to sponsor her mother to the UK and asked that they courier the documents to him.
He then sent a message claiming that a friend was arriving in Sri Lanka bringing gifts including an iPhone, cash, and a pair of sunglasses. He had posted a photo of the items on Facebook. He had told the mother and daughter to expect a call.
The mother got a call from the man saying he had arrived at Katunayake, but that customs officers had imposed duties of Rs 80,000.
He had claimed that the customs officers were willing to offer a personal bank account to which the money could be deposited.
The mother then deposited Rs 80,000. But a few minutes later she had received another call claiming that there were a few more jewellery items and the officers were demanding another Rs 350,000. So she did made another deposit. However, she had received another call claiming that more money was required. By then she had become suspicious and complained to the Cyber Crime Division of the CID.
The deposits account was traced to a drug addict who had opened it under his name and sold it to the Nigerians.
Police got the help of the drug addict to track down the Nigerians by depositing Rs 200,000 and withdrawing it immediately. The Nigerians who were monitoring the account had called the drug addict and demanded the money. On police instructions the drug addict claimed that he was willing to return part of the money if they call over. The two Nigerians were arrested when they came.
The police found that the same two Nigerians were involved in another case where they had swindled money from the wife of a businessman through a fake Facebook account.
The fake account holder had pretended to be a resident of the UK and claimed that he was a regular traveller by posting pictures of various locations he purportedly visited.
Six months after being a Facebook friend, he had offered to help the woman to travel to the UK and get citizenship.
He too had informed her that one of his friends was coming to Sri Lanka and that he was sending jewellery and two watches as gifts.
The woman received a call saying the visitor was held up at the customs and that he needed Rs 80,000 to pay duties. He asked that the money be deposited in a local account reportedly given by customs officers. A few minutes later he claimed that her Facebook friend in the UK also had sent some cash and the customs had imposed a fine of Rs 700,000 before he could be released.
The woman deposited the money and then got another call demanding more. She then told her husband and filed a CID complaint.
The CID officer said that there are other Nigerians involved in similar frauds in Sri Lanka. They are collecting money for their stay in Sri Lanka and for gambling in casinos.
He said investigations have revealed that many Nigerians scammers had fake Facebook profiles.
“While maintaining contact over a period they gather personal information including details of personal difficulties and offer their assistance thereby building confidence,’’ the officer said.
He said they were also getting help from Sri Lankans to get phone connections and use their bank accounts.
He said that about 30 such cases have been reported to police, but that the figure could be over 100.