The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has
cautioned members of the public against fraudulent activities of
spurious dispenser and manager of funds to vulnerable Nigerians,
ostensibly to cope with the discomfort associated with the lockdown
measures of the Federal Government in some parts of the
country.
The Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, who
disclosed the strange development on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, added
that some faceless elements are circulating ” FREE N5000
LOCKDOWN FUNDS TO SUSTAIN DURING LOCKDOWN”.
He said, ” The circulation of the fake funds is being carried
out online through a phishing link via WhatsApp. The link is
embedded with a link titled https://bit.ly/free-N5000.[1] Whenever
the link is clicked, it would redirect recipients of the message to
a phishing website address https://fg-free-funds.blogspot.com.[2]
Visitors to this fraudulent website will find an online
questionnaire from which they must respond in order to trigger the
phishing”.
According to Magu, the phishing website is curiously hosted on a
Google server. “However, registration information of the website is
being investigated and members of the public are advised to be wary
of any Lockdown Funds dressed in any suspicious garb”, he
added.
It would be recalled that, the EFCC, had in a recent release,
cautioned Nigerians against fake cures and donations, especially
fake charities springing up purporting to offer guidelines on
donations to government and ordinary Nigerians in a bid to cope
with the discomfort arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Magu reiterates the commitments of the EFCC to monitor closely
the antics of fraudsters cashing in on the government lockdown
directives to perpetrate criminal acts. “We would not stop bursting
every scheme designed to defraud Nigerians of their hard- earned
money”, he said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has
cautioned members of the public against fraudulent activities of
spurious dispenser and manager of funds to vulnerable Nigerians,
ostensibly to cope with the discomfort associated with the lockdown
measures of the Federal Government in some parts of the
country.
The Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, who
disclosed the strange development on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, added
that some faceless elements are circulating ” FREE N5000
LOCKDOWN FUNDS TO SUSTAIN DURING LOCKDOWN”.
He said, ” The circulation of the fake funds is being carried
out online through a phishing link via WhatsApp. The link is
embedded with a link titled https://bit.ly/free-N5000.[1] Whenever
the link is clicked, it would redirect recipients of the message to
a phishing website address https://fg-free-funds.blogspot.com.[2]
Visitors to this fraudulent website will find an online
questionnaire from which they must respond in order to trigger the
phishing”.
According to Magu, the phishing website is curiously hosted on a
Google server. “However, registration information of the website is
being investigated and members of the public are advised to be wary
of any Lockdown Funds dressed in any suspicious garb”, he
added.
It would be recalled that, the EFCC, had in a recent release,
cautioned Nigerians against fake cures and donations, especially
fake charities springing up purporting to offer guidelines on
donations to government and ordinary Nigerians in a bid to cope
with the discomfort arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Magu reiterates the commitments of the EFCC to monitor closely
the antics of fraudsters cashing in on the government lockdown
directives to perpetrate criminal acts. “We would not stop bursting
every scheme designed to defraud Nigerians of their hard- earned
money”, he said.