The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Benin Zonal Command in Southern Nigeria, has handed over USD 26,000 to a British national named Christine Brown.
Brown was a victim of internet fraud who had petitioned the Commission after being defrauded through a romance scam.
The spokesperson for the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren made this known in a press statement in Abuja.
The Zonal Commander of EFCC, Kanu Idagu, while handing over the recovered fund, said, the Commission will continue to discharge its mandate to the betterment of the society.
“We are doing a whole lot in ensuring that victims of fraud are restituted where possible, and we will continue to do more.”
He admonished the public to be circumspect in whatever they do online as fraudsters prowl the internet seeking to defraud unsuspecting victims.
The 70-year-old while Narrating her ordeal, Brown said, she became a victim after she met a purported John Barrowman, an entertainer and citizen of America online.
Brown said they became romantically involved, and the fraudster began to demand money which she sent to him through wire transfers, Bitcoin and gift cards.
Brown expressed gratitude to the Commission for its efforts which she said, have brought some succour to her after losing her life’s savings to the fraudsters.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Uyo Zonal Command on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, arrested 17 suspected internet fraudsters at different locations in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The spokesperson for the commission Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said they were arrested during a sting operation following a series of intelligence reports that linked the suspects to all kinds of online criminal activities.
Items recovered from them include; sophisticated mobile phones, a television set, a red Toyota Camry LE car, a black Honda car and two Lexus cars.
He said the suspects will be charged to Court as soon as the investigations are concluded.
