The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed how Chinese nationals usually engage local and computer-savvy Nigerians to defraud mostly United Kingdom residents.
The EFCC Director of Public Affairs Wilson Uwujaren, who was speaking on Friday at a press conference in Abuja, explained that hotel review job scam is a globally entrenched internet-related fraud that has recently appeared in the Nigerian space.
He said, “The modus operandi involves Chinese nationals who usually recruit local and computer-savvy Nigerians as Customer Service Representatives.
“The Representatives are made to work on a prepared template of criminality online. They are given identities and names, usually foreign, through which they chat with expatriates.
“The crime involves making false representations to victims to win their trust and engage in hotel ratings with promises of $5 for every hotel that is reviewed.
“As the victims get paid, they are encouraged to review more hotels, and the payment is increased to $10 per rating.
“After a long while, the victim is encouraged to make bookings in any of the rated hotels for as much as $500, with the company promising to pay back with chunky interest into a crypto wallet bearing their names.
“After making bookings, the victim would not be able to open the wallet, and their money is lost.
“The fraud is an intricate mechanism of defrauding foreigners, and it is targeted at victims in Europe and other parts of the world,” he added.
Uwujaren disclosed that the EFCC is working with other law enforcement agencies across the world to dig deeper into the global dimensions involved in this crime.
He noted that the EFCC achieved the latest breakthrough barely a month after 792 suspected investment and internet fraudsters were arrested by operatives of the Commission on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
Recall that EFCC operatives, on Thursday, January 9, 2025, broke syndicate of fraudsters specializing in a hotel review job scam targeting mostly United Kingdom victims.
The operatives arrested 105 suspects, comprising four Chinese nationals and 101 Nigerians, at Naka Hall Plaza in Abutu Garba Street, Gudu, Abuja, and recovered 100 compact Work Stations from the suspects.
