Lagos Police Issue Warning Against Online Scams

The Lagos State Police Command has warned Nigerians about a rise in online scams, targeting buyers on popular marketplaces on the internet.

The statement from the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer SP Benjamin Hundeyin highlighted the importance of being alert while making purchases online. The officer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) official account on Sunday to share the statement for awareness.

"Complaints about this are becoming too frequent," he wrote. "Try not to fall victim! To better understand this, let us agree that Tom is the innocent buyer, Dick is the scammer while Harry is the innocent seller."

Hundeyin went on to share an example, "Tom visits a popular online marketplace and sees an item he likes, at a very good price, from a reputable vendor. He calls the number on the vendor's profile to show interest in buying the item."

He continued, "Dick answers the call and also shows interest in selling to Tom. Unknown to Tom, Dick has no item to sell. Dick simply cloned the account of that reputable vendor. Everything is the same except the phone number."

The officer explained how Dick encourages Tom to visit the shop, noting that he was not available at the shop, but a salesperson will guide him instead. After checking the item and being satisfied, Dick asks Tom to send payment to his account directly for making the purchase.

At the same time, Dick also calls the real owner of the shop named Harry and says, "Hello I am Dick. I saw item XYZ you put up for sale. I am interested in buying it. I will send someone to come and buy it as I'm not around for now."

Later when Tom tries to walk out of the shop with the item he already paid for, Harry stops him for the payment while Tom explains that he has already paid the money to Dick (assuming he is the boss of the shop).

"Buyer should ensure that the person he/she spoke with on the phone and the attendant at the shop (or delivery guy in some cases) both agree on the same account details before payment is made," Hundeyin added.

While Nigerian officials are urging people to beware of such online scams, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in February slammed those who stereotype Nigerians over cybercrimes.