By Uche Amunike
Ex-Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi has fallen victim to fraudsters who hacked his WhatsApp phone number, Saturday, resulting in his friends losing millions of Naira to them.
According to the lawmaker, after they successfully hacked his phone, they sent messages to his contacts asking for help on his behalf. Even though some of his friends alerted him as they became suspicious of the financial demand, some others transferred varied amounts of money to the account numbers provided by the fraudsters.
According to a statement released by the bewildered Tokunbo Afikuyomi, he alerted relevant authorities to track the criminals and gave them exposed. Hear him: ‘I immediately complained to the relevant security and regulatory agencies and I thank the anti-fraud unit of the police for springing into action immediately.’
‘Their efforts led to identifying some of the account numbers and the details of the respective owners through which the scammers collected various sums of money. The security agents are also already deploying technology to geo-locate the perpetrators. Investigations by relevant agencies are still ongoing.’
He however indicated that he has stopped using the hacked WhatsApp number for now, until after investigations, adding that he can be reached through regular phone calls on the same number.
He faulted the banking system in the country, stating that it was bad for scammers to succeed in fraudulent hacking of people’s accounts just to defraud them. His words: ‘I must at this stage express my dismay with the lack of due diligence in the bank account opening and maintenance system in our country. This is what has come out so far in the investigation of this phone hacking scam.’
‘The scammers opened so many bank accounts without supplying the banks with the necessary security checks and details required by the law. In the same manner, it is now obvious that some of the Over Top Media Services providers do not fully comply with the provision of Nigeria’s Data Privacy and Protection Laws.’
He vowed to go the extra length to help put an end to the hacking scourge in the country. He stated: ‘I hereby express my determination to do everything within the law to smash this evil syndicate that has brought pain and tears to many people within Nigeria and those in the diaspora.’
‘Let me use this opportunity to thank everyone whose prompt response is helping to reduce the impact of this weekend scam. The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Director General of the National Financial Intelligence Agency, Modibo Hamman Tukur, and the Deputy Governor (Corporate Services), Central Bank of Nigeria, Bala Bello, deserve special mention for their efforts in unveiling the perpetrators of this crime.’
‘This crime is an indication of the perilous times that we live in when the technology that was invented to make life easy for all of us has also become a source of endangering our lives and properties’, the statement further read.
He advised the need for people to be extra careful while responding to certain messages sent by friends, adding that it was expedient to check the source of messages they receive especially for request for transfer of money.
