Nigeria arrests suspects involved in digital ID theft for financial fraud

Nigeria’s anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has raised the alarm on an ongoing criminal activity in the country which involves the purchase of stolen National Identification Numbers (NINs) from unsuspecting Nigerians to enable financial fraud.

In a recent statement, the agency announced that around 12,000 young Nigerians suspected to be involved in the criminal ring had been arrested, while investigations continue, to get to the depth of the scam.

“The Commission has made some arrests in this regard and recoveries of money lost to fraudulent Promo actors and Account Suppliers are ongoing,” the EFCC said in a post on its X account.

The EFCC said the fraud also involves instances where baits in the form of airline ticketing promos are sent to victims and malware are eventually used to gain access to the personal account details once they download apps to get the promo benefits.

The stolen data is then used to “open accounts with Fintech companies for investment scam and sundry fraudulent schemes.”

The body said it got information that fraudsters, who call themselves “Account Suppliers” are scattered all over the country, “seeking account donors that will surrender their NIN registration slip, BVN, passport photograph and other means of identification for a little fee.”

According to the EFCC’s findings, victims are lured and given “a paltry payment of between N1,500 [approximately US$0.98] and N2,000 [US$1.31] to their victims to make them surrender a copy of their personal information details to them and sell the same information to some Fintech Institutions for about N5,000 [3.27].”

In the face of these developments, the agency warned members of the public “to be wary of these actors and on no account should any Nigerian agree to be an Account Donor for any purpose as this is a threat to national security.”

The recent alert from the EFCC about digital ID theft linked to financial fraud follows earlier accusations of personal data breaches levelled against the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC). Digital rights advocates have accused the ID authority of mishandling personal data.

There have been reports in the past of personal digital ID information sold on the dark web in Nigeria, but the NIMC has often defended itself against blame over data protection complacency.

Earlier in the year, the NIMC had warned that some Nigerians, especially those running cyber cafés were involved in unauthorized printing of national ID cards and extorting money from unsuspecting citizens.

A recent investigation by The Guardian suggests however that the illegal practice has continued to thrive despite government’s threats of crackdown on perpetrators. The report quotes one citizen, Sola Akande, as saying that he ended up printing his ID card from a business center after waiting for five years without it being issued by the NIMC.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  financial crime  |  fraud prevention  |  identity document  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria