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“Give your house to Yahoo boys, spend 15 years in jail” – is the theme of a forum “#EFCCConnect,” which has been slated for 6 pm on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
…at least, when all of them are on the streets, maybe they will reconsider their business model.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Deputy Director, Legal and Prosecution, Sylvanus Tahir, and Assistant Director, Legal and Prosecution, Cosmos Ugwu, will be speaking on the said topic to enlighten landlords on the dangers of accommodating internet fraudsters, usually called ‘yahoo yahoo boys’.
Recall that the EFCC has repeatedly warned house owners and commercial real estate agents against selling or renting to cyber criminals and fraudsters.
The EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, earlier met with hotel owners in Ilorin, Kwara, to sensitise the hospitality business community on how to work with the Commission to stop cybercriminals.
EFCC Zonal Commander, Michael Nzekwe expressed concern about what he described as the “cold complicity by hospitality entrepreneurs.”
Nzekwe stated that housing cybercriminals negate Section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act, 2006.
He said, “The section provides for a prison term of between five and 15 years without option of fine for any person who permits his premises to be used for any offense under the Act.”
Cybercrime in Nigeria
Nigeria loses about $500 million annually to cybercrime, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This accounts for 0.08 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The NCC, through the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team and Computer Security Incident Response Team, alerted Nigerians to numerous cyberattacks happening across the country.
The attacks have ranged from those targeting businesses to individuals and bank accounts. Phones and computers have been intended targets. Each new threat alert has shown significant growth in the sophistication of cybercriminals.
In an advisory on car hacking, the NCC said, “Multiple researchers disclosed a vulnerability, which is said to be used by a nearby attacker to unlock some Honda and Acura car models and start their engines wirelessly.
“The attack consists of a threat actor capturing the radio frequency signals sent from your key fob to the car and resending these signals to take control of your car’s remote keyless entry system.”
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has listed unemployment, the quest for wealth, lack of strong cybercrime laws, and inadequate security on personal devices as major key factors contributing to the increase in Cybercrime in the country.
Head Information Technology Department of NDIC, Imade Uhunwagbo said that apart from bad influencers that are accepted in the society, low-level collaboration on Cybercrime also helped to make Cybercrime a significant problem in the country.
Making presentations on “Cybercrime and Cyber-risks landscape in Nigeria and the need for Consumer protection,” he said cybercrime is a fast-growing type of crime, adding that more and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience, and anonymity of the Internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders; either physical or virtual, cause serious harm and pose very real threats to unsuspecting victims.
There, is, therefore, an urgent need to pin all the grey areas – and working with landlords is a good step.