The Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has warned students across the country to steer clear of internet fraud to avoid its grave consequences.
He gave the warning on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at a One-Day sensitization conference held at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. According to him, cybercrime is evil, its consequences are grave and devastating and should not be condoned by students.
At the conference themed: “Drug Addiction, illicit Substances and Cybercrime”, organized by the Youth Anti-Corruption Society of Nigeria, Olukoyede , represented by Head, Cybercrimes Section at the Port Harcourt’s Zonal Command, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Helen Nagberi, warned students against desperate pursuit of wealth, stressing that there is no alternative to hard work.
“Youths are desperately in search of swift affluence without wanting to shed a shred of sweat. This has made many unserious and myopic Nigerian youths venture into cybercrimes. Some people have even advanced further into yahooplus which involves the use of diabolical means to achieve their fraudulent objectives”, he said.
The EFCC’s boss says that internet fraud is a critical issue that affects individuals, businesses, national economies and the entire financial system resulting in significant financial losses. He pointed out that “cyber criminals impersonate legitimate institutions and trick individuals into revealing their personal information in order to defraud them”.
He cautioned that adequate measures should always be taken through enhanced public awareness and sensitization to ensure cyber security at all times. “Become vigilant when browsing, never click on unfamiliar links or adverts”, he added.