Romance scam: Police arrest man for defrauding Australian national

Men of the Nigeria Police Force – national cybercrime centre have arrested one Egenevowero Emefeke who allegedly defrauded an Australian national.

Police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Monday, said the sum of 60,000 Australian dollars was recovered from the 37-year-old suspect who resides in the Guida area of the federal capital territory, Abuja.

Adejobi said Emefeke was arrested after actionable intelligence was provided by the South Australian police department.

He said the suspect, in a written statement during the police interview, admitted to having committed the fraud and several others dating back to 2021.

“In unmasking his modus operandi, investigation reveals that the suspect and his cohorts usually adopt pseudo identities of renown international celebrities, carefully select their victims through different social media platforms.

“They lure the victims into an attack popularly known as “Romance Scam”, and after gaining their trust, subsequently play on their emotion to swindle them of their resources.

“Investigation further revealed that the victims are usually vulnerable men and women in a desperate search for emotional comfort and fame,” the statement reads.

Adejobi said Usman Baba, the inspector-general of police, had commended recent successes by the NPF-NCCC in tackling the new wave of anti-cybercrimes in collaboration with international anti-cybercrime agencies.

The IGP asked the centre to sustain the drive and called on the public to exercise restraint in engaging in businesses and relationships with individuals whose real identities had not been physically verified.

“While the processes to repatriate the recovered fund to the victim through the Australian consulate is being perfected, the suspect will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations,” Adejobi added.