By Joyce Ekeh
The Nigeria Police Force has warned Nigerians against falling victim to investment fraud, romance scams and sexual extortion, commonly known as sextortion, urging citizens to adopt safer online practices.
The Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Akaninyene Ezima, gave the warning on Saturday during a cybercrime awareness programme in Abuja.
Ezima said tackling cybercrime required more than arrests and prosecutions, stressing the need for continuous public education and sensitisation.
According to him, citizens must understand the risks associated with their online activities and learn how to protect themselves from cybercriminals.
“It is not all about enforcement. This is more about sensitisation. This is more about letting the people know what they should and should not do,” he said.
The NPF-NCCC director identified investment scams as one of the major forms of cybercrime reported to the police, particularly schemes that lure victims with promises of unusually high returns.
He said fraudsters often use online dashboards to display fake profits to convince victims that their investments are growing, only for them to discover that they cannot withdraw their money after investing substantial amounts.
Ezima said some Nigerians had lost hundreds of millions of naira, while losses from some fraudulent investment schemes had run into billions of naira.
He also raised concerns over romance scams and the increasing cases of sextortion, where criminals use intimate images obtained from victims to threaten or blackmail them.
According to him, fraudsters sometimes establish relationships with victims online and obtain intimate photographs before threatening to release the images when the relationship breaks down or the victims refuse further demands.
Ezima advised Nigerians to be careful about sharing personal information, photographs and financial details online.
He also urged prospective investors to verify the legitimacy of investment opportunities before committing their money, warning against schemes that promise unrealistic returns.
“If an investment looks too good to be true, then it is probably not true,” he said.
He questioned the credibility of investment schemes promising returns of 30 per cent monthly, noting that such offers should raise concerns among prospective investors.
The police chief also dismissed the perception that cybercrime in Nigeria was committed exclusively by Nigerians, saying the country had also become a target for international criminal networks.
He said the police had arrested foreign nationals in connection with cybercrime cases, adding that citizens must avoid exposing their personal information, financial accounts and online relationships to criminals.
Ezima also acknowledged the role of the media in educating the public on cybercrime prevention, saying stronger collaboration would help disseminate safety information to a wider audience.
He appreciated the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, for supporting the centre, as well as other stakeholders who participated in the awareness campaign.
Also speaking, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Department of Logistics and Supply at Force Headquarters, DIG Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, described cybersecurity as an important component of national security.
Onwuemelie said the awareness programme was part of the Inspector-General’s broader approach to strengthening internal security and educating Nigerians about threats in the digital space.
He said the week-long initiative culminated in the sensitisation exercise aimed at deepening public understanding of cybercrime and promoting safer online behaviour.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PalmPay Limited in Nigeria, Chika Reginald Nwosu, said the fintech company supported the campaign because digital security must be accompanied by consumer education.
Nwosu said PalmPay had partnered with the NPF-NCCC on the awareness initiative for the second consecutive year, stressing the importance of financial literacy in protecting consumers and maintaining a secure digital financial ecosystem.
He urged customers to keep their personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords and one-time passwords (OTPs) confidential, warning that sharing such information could expose their accounts to fraud.
“Building a well-secured digital platform is not enough. We also believe that consumer education, what we call financial literacy programme, is very important to protect the consumers and have a very healthy financial ecosystem,” he said.
Nwosu said the company’s internal investigations showed that about 85 per cent of the fraud incidents it examined involved victims who had compromised their security information. He, however, did not provide details of the investigations or the sample size behind the figure.
He added that PalmPay had introduced technological safeguards, including facial verification, to strengthen security on its platform and make it more difficult for fraudsters to operate.
Nwosu maintained that combining technological safeguards with consumer education would help reduce exposure to financial fraud.
The police and industry stakeholders urged Nigerians to remain vigilant when conducting financial transactions online, avoid sharing confidential security information and verify investment opportunities before transferring money.
