Nigerians and fraudulent investment schemes
By Maria Famakinwa
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Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s several warnings that people should be wary of fraudulent individuals sending messages to them, especially through social media for loan offers, it is quite unfortunate that some gullible Nigerians are still falling into such a trap.
Not even the experience of Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM) ponzi scheme of 2016 where over three millions Nigerians were defrauded, was enough warning to discourage some gullible Nigerians from embracing deceitful offers.
Recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also warned Nigerians against investing their money in fraudulent investment schemes that promise high returns to investors. Mr Wilson Uwajaren of the Commission said recently that the anti-graft agency was worried over the development that had seen thousands lose their life savings to scanners. It stated that one of such popular schemes, MBA Forex, which promised its investors 15 per cent return on investment monthly, crashed in November, leaving its over 100,000 investors stranded. “The CBN which later froze MBA’s bank accounts said that the company, owned by one Maxwell Odum, had collected over N171 billion from its investors before crashing.
“Also, another popular scheme, Baraza Multipurpose Cooperative, headquartered in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, had in March announced its inability to meet its obligations to its over 25,000 investors. The company, owned by one Miebi Bribena, a pastor, had promised to refund investors their capital running into billions but did not provide any reasonable timeline to refund their monies. The Commission had received several petitions from victims of ponzi, forex and Bitcoin investment schemes. This trend indicates that investment scams has continued to thrive despite the enforcement and public enlightenment interventions by the commission and other stakeholders.
“The direct implications is that hapless citizens are losing their hard-earned money to fraudsters, who by their activities compound the nation’s economic woes. Many have lost and are still losing money to ponzi schemes, forex trading and most recently, Bitcoin trading. Members of the public should be warned against taking an unmitigated risk in desperation to earn a windfall on fraudulent schemes. According to him, Investment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were a high-risk activity especially as the terrain was largely unregulated and prone to fraud.
He added, “While the EFCC will continue to investigate and prosecute persons complicit in fraudulent investments schemes, it is incumbent on the investing public to be circumspect in their investment decisions. Any investment that promises returns that look too good to be true should be considered a red flag. Nigerians are by this notice warned to be wary of fraudulent schemes and are hereby enjoined to resist the temptation of quick gain that could end in misery.” he warned.
A banker, who simply gave her name as Tomi, explained that some bank customers had fallen into the traps of scammers, despite warning from banks that they should not release their personal details to anyone.
She said, “There was a case of a particular customer who was told by scammers that his account had issues that and they would want him to provide some information to rectify the problem. Unknowingly, the man provided every needed information to the scammer, only to lose the N95,000 he had in his account. He rushed to the bank when he saw the alert but the scammer could not be traced.
“Not only him, many people have lost huge amount of money to fraudsters masquerading as bankers. The only solution is for people to go to their banks and find out things for themselves instead of providing their details to people through mobile phones or social media. Scammers come up with different strategies to defraud innocent people. That is the more reason people have to be watchful and wise. Scammers are everywhere.” she warned.
A trader, Mrs Anuoluwa Akinsayo, who once fell into the antics of scammers with her friends warned that the general public must be wary of people coming with attractive offers and added that they are fraudsters. She narrated her ordeal, “ Two years ago, six young men came to introduce a company that was just set up to be given loans to petty traders with little or no interest. I jumped at it and invited some of my friends who also brought some people to benefit from the rare offer. We were about 52 in number and bought the form for N1000 per person. The agreement was that we would get double of whatever amount saved which we embraced as a juicy offer. The first two weeks we started, they made real their promises and gave us double of the money saved. Other traders who heard about the loan then joined.
“After two months that they started operation, with more traders expecting to be given double of their money, we did not see them again. Their mobile lines were switched off and their office at Oke-Aro was vacated. All efforts to trace them till now proved abortive, as they made away with many traders money. I lost N19,000 to them. Some N20, 000 and some more. Since then, I have learnt my lesson not to jump at any loan offer. People should learn from us. Most of those coming to give loans are scammers.” she warned.
A businessman, Mr Tosin Folorunso, opined that most people who usually fall victim of scammers were the greedy type with questionable character. He said, “How can someone send a message to me requesting for my account details including my Bank Verification Number(BVN) under the pretense that I have won a particular amount of money when I know that I did not have any such deal with anybody. A jobless friend in Lagos State received a message to come for an interview, despite the fact that he did not submit his credentials to the said company.
“He could not locate easily the address of the interview until he called the phone number and was directed. When he got there, he met about 60 people who came for the same purpose. While they were still waiting for the interview, some guys came and led them to a corner with guns, obtained their mobile phones, ATM cards with codes and money. It was a bitter lesson for my friend. We need to be careful of jumping at any offer to avoid being scammed”, he said.”