By Olisemeka Sony & Chinelo Nwangene
Wolf in sheep’s clothing:
Madam Rita usually looks forward to every month of March, especially the 23rd day of the month, her birthday, with great expectationand excitement. It is the time of the year when loved ones, relatives, friends and well-wishers usually treat her like a queen and shower her with gifts and love. But the 2018 edition turned out to be the flipside of the coin and produced a nerve-wreaking experience she would never wish to relive. It was the month she fell into the booby trap of social media fraudsters and blackmailers who nearly wrecked her life and marriage. Luckily, she survived the ordeal, but not without emotional bruises and ruffled feathers.
When the man who gave his identity as Victor Eze and Madam Rita started a routine, innocuous friendly banter on Facebook, little did she know that she was treading on a minefield. Following exchange of phone contacts, the pair started talking on phone and chatting on WhatsApp. Eze had two phone numbers, 0814***1952 and 0806***6077 with which he communicated with Rita.
Mr. Eze, posing as a foreign based rich guy from Nsukka in Enugu state, looking for a matured lady to re-marry after losing his wife in a car accident, had quickly picked interest in Rita. He claimed that he considered her as the perfect candidate to replace his deceased wife. Although Rita reportedly informed him that she was married with four kids and was not interested in such relationship, Mr. Eze was not persuaded to look elsewhere. Even when she wittingly urged the man to speak with her husband on phone to scar him off, Eze refused to back off. Instead, he declared himself a friend of the family in his desperate bid to maintain unfettered access and constant communications with her.
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Gradually, Eze switched his game-plan from A to B. Despite neatly concealing his identity from Rita, Eze had urged her to send him photos and she forwarded one of her Facebook profile pictures to him. As a reward, he had revealed what he considered a closely guarded secret to her: “He told me that they have disputes with their family members who were after them and so they left their village and bought a land at low cost housing estate in Nsukka and that he was trying to quickly develop the property before travelling back abroad”. Rita shared snippets of her conversation with Eze with Orient Daily. “He even promised to buy my kids clothes and shoes as well as give me a surprise package on my birthday”, Rita recalled, adding that on many occasions both of them would be talking in Nsukka dialect.
To further bamboozle the unsuspecting woman, Eze would call her on WhatsApp video app in a darkroom where his true identity would be concealed while seeing her as they talked. “When I asked him why his image is not appearing on the video call, he asked me the type of phone I use and I told him it’s Tecno Android. He claimed my phone software is not compatible with his iPhone 6 and that’s why I am not seeing him”, Rita recalled. There were other lies Eze dished out as the relationship hit the fast lane.
However, things took a dramatic turn when, after a brief spell without routine call or chat, one Mrs. Ifeoma Victoria Obi, who claim to be Eze’s mother called Rita with phone number 0814***8056 to inform her that her son had been shot by unknown assassins and battling for his life in an undisclosed hospital.
According to the woman who equally spoke in Nsukka dialect and sounded elderly, Mr. Eze was under intensive medical care and needed urgent financial assistance for surgeries to remove the bullets. Madam Rita was begged to help raise atleast N150,000 deposit for the doctors to continue the operation. “She told me that they shot him and stole his phone and other valuable items; that the guy was on oxygen and that I should look for money and send to them through a Fidelity Bank account number 632****835 also bearing Obi Ifeoma Victoria.
As if under spell, Rita had started a spirited effort to mobilise funds to save her dear friend. Luckily for Rita, her visiting mother, had noticed her frantic and suspicious search for money and begun to quiz her. When she eventually opened up, her mother spotted the holes in their claims and warned her daughter to steer clear that the people she was dealing with were fraudsters. Not convinced, she decided to call Eze’s line which the mother (Mrs. Victoria Ifeoma Obi) claimed was stolen by the assailants, and it rang. “I called his (Eze’s) line in the night and the guy picked and told me that am not good person for not sending the N150,000 for his treatment and because of that he will deal with me and make my life miserable. He later sent me a text message, threatening to make me suffer and end my marriage. He also told me that he will make a Photoshop of the picture I sent to him and make it look like my naked pictures and send them to my husband as well as publish it on Facebook if I failed to send them the money”, she disclosed.
He continued to call and send threatening messages until Rita opened up to her husband about her ordeal and what the blackmailers were demanding from her. Luckily for her, in addition to declaring his full support, the husband took up the matter and began to make moves to apprehend the fraudsters. That was how Rita succeeded in turning the game upside, with the hunter, Eze becoming the haunted. Efforts are reportedly underway to unmask the identity of the fraudster and probably end his fraud career.
Social media fraudsters on prowl:
Expectedly, there are many Victor Ezes scouting through the social media on hourly and daily basis scouting for unsuspecting and naïve people to defraud. Although accurate statistics are hardly available, there are strong indications that social media sweetheart scams are on the rise in Nigeria especially since the usage of social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Wechat, Snapchat and Twitter, among others, has increased.
We have all heard different versions of how well-educated, respectable ladies, married women, widow etc. got entangled in secret social media romance and, in the process, were blackmailed into sending huge sums of money to fraudsters.
Essentially most victims usually meet an unsuspecting scammer or fraudster on the social media platforms, especially Facebook or dating website, who poses as a nice person also looking for a relationship online and ready. They chat over the internet and exchange photos. The scammer typically sends photographs of a very good-looking man or woman, depending who their target is. And as the conversation becomes more intimate and the fraudster shows much care and love, the victim thinks they have developed a relationship and over time falls in love. In many cases, they propose marriage and begin to make fictitious wedding plans.
Eventually the scammer comes up with a story about how he/she has a major problem which requires an outlay of money. The victim, feeling the need to help their new-found love, ends up wiring money to the person, in desperate bid to help a lover-in-need. As soon as they cash their monies, they vanish into thin air. But, if their victim fails to grant their financial demands, they would switch into blackmail, using some of the personal information or photographs shared in the course of the fake romance.
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What is social media blackmail?
This is a criminal act in which some fraudulent individuals use information they gathered from social media to threaten a person to do what he or she demands or the victim will be exposed to society. Blackmailer’s demands may not only be monetary but acts that are immoral and criminal. Most victims prefer to meet the blackmailer’s demands to avoid public exposure.
Avoiding Social Media Blackmail
It is very common for people these days to become blackmail victims online. Social media services are not to be blamed but the way they are being used. Here are certain steps avoiding social media blackmail:
Don’t share valuables: Avoid uploading pictures of yourself and what valuables you have as it is the easiest way to invite blackmailers, stalkers, hijackers, kidnappers and scammers in your life. You will be easily identified wherever you go. Many people, especially ladies love to show off to prove that they are from rich homes or enjoy life. That can equally attract fraudsters to you. Beware of what you share and whom you are sharing with.
Don’t send nude: One of the latest blackmailing tools in the hands of online scammers are naked photos. In many cases, in the course of the online romantic spell, the fake lover often demand for private photos and videos of the lady and most naïve ladies would oblige their requests. Incidentally, when the tide turns, they would threaten to publish them online. So many celebrities and even unknown ladies have had their private photos flood the internet as a result of this mistake. Avoid sharing private photos or video. Only a trusted lover should have access to such privacy.
Limit your online exposure: Adjust your social networking so only your friends can see private information about you. Do not post your phone number, mobile number, email address, street address and any personal information in the Internet. You real friends know your phone number and where you live. Similarly, avoid communicating with anyone other than legitimate, bonafide friends; at least verify communication from new people. Even in the Internet, do not talk to strangers.
Don’t respond to suspicious messages: If a message looks dubious to you, especially if they are requesting for information that are personal, do not respond. Quickly delete it.
Don’t send money to anyone: This is especially important if you’re communicating with a stranger, someone you have never met or know their background. It becomes obvious when they send you account details that did not match their fake identity. Don’t just send any money.
Share with your family members: Experience has shown that most fraudsters usually warn their victim against disclosing their secret conversation and deals to other people. Anyone who tells you to keep information away from your family and close friends is obviously exploiting you. Your first guard is to always share such social interests and friendships with your trusted relations or friends. They will be the ones to guide you, when you are stepping off the track.
Consult a professional: If an online relationship seems fishy, don’t fail to consult someone who is knowledgeable in the field. Don’t keep it to yourself. Even when someone tries to bully or blackmail you, quickly contact a professional for a second opinion and guide on how to navigate through the web.
Double check: Always do your background checks on those who seek your acquaintance, especially online. Thankfully, nowadays, many people have left permanent digital footprints that even minimally tech-savvy individuals can find. Use Google to search for additional information on new individuals you meet and cross check the information they’ve told you about themselves. Even if things appear to match up, don’t assume they’re telling you the truth. Scammers often go to great lengths to pose as another person or create a believable online presence that backs up their phony story.
Pursue face-to-face relationship. Avoid online dating if possible because it is far easier to present fake identity online than in real life. If possible, insist on seeing someone physically before going ahead to develop feelings for them. Even when arrangements for physical meeting have been made, make sure you meet at a neutral location where you are guaranteed safety. Many have lured their victims to dangerous locations where they extort, drug, rape and even kill them. This goes for any interactions with strangers, both online and in person. Above all, look before you leap. All that glitters is not gold.
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