A ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ centre that teaches internet fraud to youngsters has been busted in Abuja by the Nigeria Police Force – National Cybercrime Centre.
Operatives stormed and dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate operating a ‘Yahoo’ Academy that serves as a recruiting and mentoring hub for fraud.
According to sources resident in the FCT, the yahoo training school awards certificates to mentees who have successfully carried out their first scam before ”graduation”.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement Wednesday, October 25, said the operation led to the arrest of at least six suspects and a shut down of the centre.
He said the Force embarked on the operation in response to a series of intelligence reports that indicated a deep involvement of the syndicate in various cybercrimes, including business email compromise, romance scams, and high-yield investment programme fraud in the territory.
Adejobi explained that upon receiving the intelligence, a team of cybercrime forensic experts and investigators were detailed on the case leading to the arrest of the suspects at their hideout in the Dantata Estate area of the capital city.
The police spokesperson also revealed that several digital gadgets and effects used in perpetrating their criminal enterprise were recovered by the security operatives.
“The suspects, namely Bernard Joseph, 27, Emmanuel Joseph, 22, Obasi Ikechukwu, 19, Anijiofor Tobechuckwu, 26, Andrew Moses, 19, and Israel Ezekiel, 19, summarily confessed to their various degrees of involvement in cybercrimes, including identity theft, hacking and trading of hacked Facebook accounts, romance scams, and computer-related forgery.
“A pertinent investigation is ongoing, and efforts to apprehend the fleeing members of this criminal network are underway. Meanwhile, the arrested suspects will be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation,” the statement added.
