Yahoo Boys Target Nigerian Banks, Steal N8 Billion of Customers' Funds
- The EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said that Nigerian banks lost N8 billion to internet fraud in 2022
- He stated that in 2022 alone, at least 71% of businesses functioning in the nation were affected by cyberfraud
- The EFCC boss also said that over 300 illegal foreign exchange accounts had been frozen to enable the naira to operate well
Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has detailed how banks nationwide lost over N8 billion in 2022 due to internet fraud, also referred to as Yahoo-Yahoo.
Source: UGC
The revelation was made by the EFCC chairman yesterday in an engaging meeting with media executives in Abuja, according to a report by Sun newspaper.
The EFCC boss explained how cybercrime has harmed businesses and hindered the nation's ability to draw in direct foreign investment.
He said the commission's fight against internet fraud is about protecting Nigeria's future as cybercrime affected no fewer than 71% of businesses in the nation in 2022.
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He said:
“In 2022 alone, I’m waiting for the report of 2023; we discovered that more than 71% of Nigerian industries, companies and firms fell victim to cybercrime. Now, which country or company would thrive with this kind of thing?
“The alarming statistics continued with Nigerian banks losing over N8 billion to electronic transfer fraud in the first nine months of 2022. A system lost over N8 billion to a particular scheme of fraud and you are asking EFCC to close its eyes to that kind of situation. Are we even fair to ourselves?”
Olukoyede also informed reporters that within the past week, more than 300 illegal foreign exchange accounts have been frozen.
He said if such go unchecked, they could cause another decline in the value of the nation's currency.
He added:
“We got an order to freeze those accounts. Somebody would come and ask us, ‘what is your business with forex transactions? Some people are happy; they take pleasure in seeing this country boiling and I’ve realised that in the course of this work, some people want to see things go bad! From bad to worse”
“Olukoyede said over $15 billion passed through one of the platforms in the last year, which was not regulated by financial regulators. There are people in this country doing worse than Binance,”
419 training schools
He also said there are 419 training institutions throughout the nation, and described the situation as worrisome.
According to the head of the EFCC, the organization has established a cybercrime research centre where Yahoo Yahoo suspects found guilty would receive training on how to apply their knowledge to advance positive elements of society.
“We’ve discovered that, in almost all the states of Nigeria, all the sub-nationals, we have what we call ‘419 training schools’ where they harvest our children from primary schools.
“When they leave school, they end up in some of these 419 training schools. They start indoctrinating them. These are facts. They even ask their parents to sign an undertaking.
After that, they induct them and some of these fraud tests start paying their school fees and indoctrinate them into cyber crime; as young as they are… Even children of those from wealthy homes are doing it now. It’s a trend!
“Now, Nigeria’s yearly loss to internet fraud amounted to over $500 million. In one year! This is according to the Nigeria Communications Commission…”
EFCC exposes how Emefiele spent N18.9bn
Legit.ng reported that Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja in a fresh suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In the new charge, the embattled former governor of the CBN was accused of signing the printing of N684,590,000 at the cost of N18.96 billion.
In a charge sheet, the EFCC said that Emefiele broke the law to harm the public while implementing the new naira notes policy of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.
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Source: Legit.ng
