A 19-year-old cyber fraudster, Chigemezu Arikibe, has been nabbed by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Responses Team, IRT, in Imo State.
The suspect was arrested for defrauding a Cambodian woman of the sum of $75,000.
It was said that Akiribe, opened a fake Facebook and Instagram accounts using the name and pictures of a certain American pilot through which he lured the victim, Sophanmia into a relationship, posing that he was a pilot working for a British airline.
He was also said to have had several conversations with the victim, during which he offered to send her expensive gift items and the sum of $500,000, which he said would be invested in real estate business in Cambodia.
It was further disclosed that the suspect told the victim that he would send the items and money in a box through a courier agency and fees would be paid for the clearing of the items.
A source explained that a courier agency from Indonesia actually contacted the victim and they made her pay a delivery fee of $800, while the gifts and money didn’t get to her.
The source added that the
She was said to have alerted the Nigeria Embassy in Cambodian when she discovered that the said pilot, who was communicating with her was calling her from Nigeria and not the United States of America.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Mission in Cambodia, after listening to the victim and analyzing data she provided to them, alerted the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and operatives of the IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari,, were detailed to fish out the suspect who was discovered to be based in Mbaitolu area of Imo State, where he was eventually arrested.
Confessing, Arikibe, a native of Ibitolu, Local Government Area of Imo State said’ “ I am 19-year-old and I attended Community School, in Eziooha area of Ibaitolu. I graduated in October 2018. It was one of my friends called Ugochukwu who taught me how to do internet fraud. I learned the job from him for one week and I started my own. I opened a fake Facebook account with the name Frank William and on Instagram, I was Patrick William. I used a picture of a male pilot which I saw on Instagram. I downloaded his pictures and I uploaded them on my fake fakebook and Instagram pages. I also used the same picture on Instagram and the pilot later discovered that I used his pictures and he started complaining. He was all over the social media complaining.
the victim in her quest to get the gift and money from the bank, also took loans from the bank, which she also sent to the fraudster.
‘’ My Facebook account was later blocked, then I focused on Instagram, where I met the client that paid me this money. I followed her and we started chatting then I told her that I was from London and I am a pilot. Then I gave her my name and we started discussing about life. Then I told the woman that I wanted to send her some expensive clothes, shoes, wrist watches and the sum of $500,000. I told her that the $500,000 would be invested in real estate business.
‘’ Then I sent her pictures of the items I wanted to send to her and the money, which would be inside a box. Then I told her that I have sent the money through a courier company and that she would have to pay customs tax. A friend of mine who lives in Indonesia acted like an official of the courier company and she contacted her.
She was given the first bill of $800 and she paid and the delivery guy in Indonesia. He called the woman again and told her that the goods have been seized and that she would have to pay $2700 for the release of the goods. She paid the money and they asked her to pay another money, which was $6200 and she paid several other monies to have the goods released. She ended up paying the sum of $75,000 and I got my share,” he added.
