The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has vowed to investigate a suspected internet fraud syndicate in Abuja accused of impersonating popular content creators to defraud victims seeking to recover lost funds.
This followed revelations by a US-based online scam-baiter and YouTuber, NanoBaiter, who alleged that the suspects impersonated popular content creators, including MrBeast, Airrack, and himself, to lure victims into paying for fake recovery services.
NanoBaiter, in a series of posts and a video documentary published on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, said he uncovered the activities of suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja who allegedly impersonated popular content creators and offered fake recovery services to previous scam victims.
The content creator, who targets online scammers, tech-support impersonators, and recovery fraudsters, said the suspects monitored comment sections of online videos where people complained about being scammed.
NanoBaiter disclosed that evidence gathered during his investigation had been submitted to the EFCC for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the spokesman for the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, said he could not confirm whether the matter had been formally reported to the commission.
He assured, however, that the commission would investigate the allegations, adding that its investigation would go beyond the findings of the YouTuber.
“If they have reported the matter to us, as they claim in that video, you can be very sure that we are going to investigate the matter even beyond what they may have uncovered.
“Whether there is such a report or there is no such report, we are never relenting. Every day we are ensuring that all these cases of cybercrime are brought to their knees,” he said.
Oyewale described internet fraud as a serious offence with far-reaching economic consequences, warning that such crimes could damage Nigeria’s international reputation.
“This kind of fraud is worrisome and causing Nigeria reputation damage. The issue of cybercrime is beyond the ordinary consideration of what the so-called ‘Yahoo boys’ are doing.”
“Cybercrime is a major fraud, and it is clear that there is a potential for forcing many millions of dollars to the nation, and that is why we keep on appealing to Nigerians that we cannot fold our hands and say that these are small boys,” he said.
NanoBaiter had alleged that the syndicate lured their victims to Telegram accounts, offering to help them recover their lost funds.
According to him, the suspects promoted and sold fund-recovery software, exploiting the desperation of victims seeking to retrieve their money.
He identified one of the suspects as Kemi.
The YouTuber also claimed that, during an operation to expose the syndicate, he cost one of the suspected fraudsters about $13,000 by redeeming thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards during a live webcam confrontation.
“This group of Nigerian scammers are currently on the phone with us trying to steal $13,000, but what they don’t realise is that I have been spying on them for the last month, and now they are about to lose thousands of dollars live on camera.
“The type of scam they run is a celebrity impersonation scam, also known as a recovery scam. However, these scammers don’t just impersonate anybody, they impersonate YouTubers like @MrBeast, @airrack, and many more channels.
“Kemi is a young guy from Nigeria, and we managed to find him while going through the comment section of one of our videos,” he said.
Narrating how he uncovered the operation, NanoBaiter said he initially encountered the suspects while reviewing comments on videos where people sought help after being scammed.
He alleged that after a suspect attempted to defraud him, he worked on reversing the remote connection to the suspect’s computer, eventually gaining access to the system and its webcam.
The YouTuber said he captured images of the suspect’s face and retrieved files and photographs that allegedly provided evidence of the operation.
He also said he examined the suspect’s Telegram contacts and computer files, which reportedly contained images linked to previous scams, cash, gift cards, and cryptocurrency transactions.
NanoBaiter explained that he used information from the computer’s active Wi-Fi connection, including basic service set identifiers, to narrow down the location of the suspected operators.
The information, he said, helped him trace the operation to Abuja.
He disclosed that access to the suspects’ systems also provided him with footage of their activities, including attempts to complete identity verification for cryptocurrency transactions.
According to the YouTuber, his team created a website through which the suspects were led to believe they could claim Bitcoin.
To complete the purported withdrawal, they were required to verify their identities.
The resulting footage, he said, helped his team identify individuals allegedly connected to the operation.
The YouTuber said his findings indicated that gift cards obtained through fraudulent activities were converted into cryptocurrency through an over-the-counter exchange arrangement, a method he alleged was used to obscure the movement of proceeds from the fraud.
In the video, the voice of the alleged fraudster was heard instructing NanoBaiter not to redeem a gift card.
The fraudster further instructed that the code should be sent to him, but NanoBaiter repeatedly redeemed the codes, taunting the fraudster.