(Last Updated On: April 5, 2022)

SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS.™ Special Report: A Victim’s Story Of Imprisonment By A ScammerScammer A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. In Nigeria

The ‘Yahoo Boy’ Who Kidnapped & Held Prisoner An American Woman In Lagos For Over 1 Year After Luring Her To Nigeria

The police said the American was confined against her wish in a hotel in Lagos by one Chukwuebuka Obiaku, a suspected fraudsterFraudster A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. that “extorted her of about $48,000”.

Nigerian Police officers have rescued a citizen of the United States of America who was confined to a Lagos hotel against her wish for over one year.

The victim, who came from Washington D.C. arrived in Nigeria on February 13, 2019, on a visit to 34-year-old Chukwuebuka Obiaku, a native of Ikeduru LGA of Imo State, whom she met on Facebook.

The retired civil servant victim reportedly lost about N18.5m (U.S. $48,000.00) to Obiaku, who allegedly took control of her credit and debit cards, as well as the operation of her bank accounts.

The suspect also allegedly took receipt of the American’s monthly retirement benefits and allowances for 15 months.

This is happening a few weeks after the police similarly rescued a Filipino woman, who was lured to Nigeria by her supposed lover whom she equally met on Facebook.

According to a statement on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, investigations show that Obiaku, a graduate of Business Administration and Management, is an Internet fraudster who has defrauded many unsuspecting members of the public, both locally and internationally.

Obiaku allegedly lured the victim into the country on the pretext of love and deceitfully married her on May 15, 2019.

“He subsequently held her captive in a hotel, extorted from her money amounting to a total of $48,000. He also forcefully collected and took control of her credit and debit cards, as well as the operation of her bank accounts, including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period of 15 months,” the police said.

The statement disclosed that the suspect also used the victim as a front to defraud her associates and other foreign personalities and companies.

“Investigations reveal that the suspect, Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku is a graduate of Business Administration and Management and an internet fraudster who has defrauded many unsuspecting members of the public both locally and internationally.”

The unidentified victim was reportedly rescued by police operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team, Ogun State annex, following information received from a Nigerian in the Meiran area of Lagos State.

“Chukwuebuka deliberately lured the victim into the country under the pretext of love and deceitfully married her on 15th May, 2019. He subsequently held her captive in a hotel, extorted from her monies amounting to a total of 48,000-USD.

“He also forcefully collected and took control of her credit and debit cards as well as the operation of her bank accounts including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period of fifteen (15) months.”

Additionally, the Nigeria Police CybercrimeCybercrime Cybercrime is a crime related to technology, computers, and the Internet. Typical cybercrime are performed by a computer against a computer, or by a hacker using software to attack computers or networks. Unit, INTERPOL National Central Bureau, Abuja, has also arrested three additional suspects related to this:

• Samson Inegbenesun, 30
• Blessed Junior, 32
• Muhammed Zakari, 36

All from Uromi in Edo State, for cybercrime-related offenses, including advance fee fraudAdvance Fee Fraud An advance fee scam or fraud is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of online confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum. If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invents a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears., money launderingMoney laundering Money laundering is the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions. Money laundering can be done through various mediums, leveraging a variety of payment vehicles, people and institutions. and romance scamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost..

The suspects were arrested in Uromi following investigations into suspected fraudulent online procurement and supply of COVID-19 protective masks, received through the INTERPOL NCB Wiesbaden, Germany.

According to police investigation unit “Inegbenosun is an Internet fraudster and a member of a Turkey-based online scam syndicate” (cartelCartel A scamming cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of engaging in larger-scale financial fraud operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various scammer gangs to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest scammer gangs organizations reached a size and scope of a major enterprise, including control of corrupt politicians and local officials. In truth, most scammer cartels do not exactly meet the definition of a cartel, but the term stuck and it is now popularly used to refer to any large criminal fraud organization.).

The police said he supplied foreign and local bank accounts to receive fraudulent funds and used the same as a conduit to other feeder accounts.

“The police have seized from him an apartment worth N20m, a Toyota RAV-4 2015 model worth N6.5m and a Toyota Matrix 2002 model valued at N2m, which he procured with the proceeds of the crime”  the Force spokesman explained in a statement.

The second suspect, Junior, was said to have returned to Nigeria from Italy in February 2020 but maintained contact with his Italian associates. Police investigations revealed that he had made over N120m from Internet fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim. and other cybercrime dealings. He was found to have also received the sum of €52,000 recently from his criminalCriminal A criminal is any person who through a decision or act engages in a crime. This can be complicated, as many people break laws unknowingly, however, in our context, it is a person who makes a decision to engage in unlawful acts or to place themselves with others who do this. A criminal always has the ability to decide not to break the law, or if they initially engage in crime to stop doing it, but instead continues. associates in Italy, as commission for his alleged involvement in an international cybercrime deal. He owns a gas filling station purchased with the proceeds of these crimes.

The police disclosed that Zakari, an expert in Internet fraud, identity theftIdentity Theft Identity theft is when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. In both the U.K. and the United States it is the theft of personally identifiable information. Identity theft deliberately uses someone else's identity as a method to gain financial advantages or obtain credit and other benefits, and perhaps to cause other person's loss. The person whose identity has been stolen may suffer adverse consequences, especially if they are falsely held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. Personally identifiable information generally includes a person's name, date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, bank account or credit card numbers, PINs, electronic signatures, fingerprints, passwords, or any other information that can be used to access a person's financial resources. and impersonationImpersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone, such as: part of a criminal act such as identity theft, online impersonation scam, or other fraud. This is usually where the criminal is trying to assume the identity of another, in order to commit fraud, such as accessing confidential information or to gain property not belonging to them. Also known as social engineering and impostors., falsely claimed to be a British citizen and also posed as Kelly Galk on online dating appsApps Applications or Apps An application (software), commonly referred to as an ‘app’ is a program on a computer, tablet, mobile phone or device. Apps are designed for specific tasks, including checking the weather, accessing the internet, looking at photos, playing media, mobile banking, etc. Many apps can access the internet if needed and can be downloaded (used) either for a price or for free. Apps are a major point of vulnerability on all devices. Some are designed to be malicious, such as logging keystrokes or activity, and others can even transport malware. Always be careful about any app you are thinking about installing., which he used in carrying out romance scamsScams A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. and defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.

“Investigation reveals he has made millions of naira from his illicitillicit Illicit means something that is not legally permitted or authorized under the law; unlicensed; unlawful. It can also mean disapproved of or not permitted for moral or ethical reasons. cybercrime transactions since he joined the Turkish syndicate. All the suspects will be prosecuted in line with the Cybercrime Prevention/Prohibition Act, 2015,” Mba stated.

We Have Said It Before!

Don’t go to Africa to meet a stranger that you only met online!

This woman could easily have been killed and no one would have ever known what happened to her.

“People have to be more aware of the risks” says SCARS Chairman Dr. McGuinness. “Once you are on their turf, anything can happen, and there is no one to come and save you!”

In this case, it was chance that led the police to find and rescue this woman. Don’t be the next statistic!

 

TAGS: SCARS, Scams, Scammers, Fraudsters, Cybercrime, Crybercriminals, Romance Scams, Scam Victims, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Held Hostage, Trapped In Nigeria, Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku, Nigerian Scammer, Yahoo Boys, Scammers Arrested

 

 

 

 

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