The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has called on members of the public to beware of the modus operandi of fraudsters in order not to fall victim of their antics.
The EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who made the appeal while presenting “Red Alert on Scam”, a special publication of the commission to the press in his office, warned prospective job seekers to be wary of people who offer to get them jobs and always endeavour to verify information by contacting the agencies involved.
The EFCC boss, who expressed concern over the rate at which vulnerable members of the public, especially the youth, fall victim of all manners of fraud, said, “many of our youths, desperate to get employment have fallen into the hands of fraudsters who dupe them of the little cash at their disposal”.
According to him, “many agencies of government are targeted by syndicates of fraudsters who send out false notices of recruitment and go ahead to demand fees from unsuspecting members of the public to process their applications.
“Another dimension to the scam is for the fraudsters to create a website, purporting to be a portal for employment processing. Such would include a phone number, which the job seeker is told to call. As soon as the job-seekers calls, the fraudster begins to make financial demands, requesting the caller to deposit money in a particular bank account”.
Lamorde, while proffering solution to the menace, called on members of the public to be cautious of giving out their bank details and jealously guard their email passwords/accounts.
He also urged them to report any website making any financial demand in return for securing employment to the Commission or any law enforcement agency.
Lamorde also used the opportunity to further warn politicians not to drag the anti-graft body into the political arena in their bid to garner political support ahead of the nation’s general elections.
He was reacting to reports over the weekend to the effect that the Commission had received an order from the Presidency to clampdown on leaders of a particular political party as well as a fake letter in circulation claiming that the EFCC is investigating a former education minister.
Lamorde described the reports as mere rumours. “I like to sound a note of warning here that the Commission will no longer tolerate people dropping its name to further their political ends. The EFCC is not a political body and will not allow itself to be dragged into political fray by desperate politicians”, he said.
According to him, “the EFCC does not need the prompting of anybody to open investigation against anyone that has violated the law. But it does the nation no good when politicians seek to use the name of the Commission to further their political objectives”.
“Red Alert on Scam” is an initiative of the Media and Publicity Unit of the EFCC, conceived as an enlightenment publication to educate members of the public on the antics of fraudsters, with a view to helping them avoid falling victims of fraud.
