Three Nigerians have been arrested by the Nigeria Police Cybercrime Unit domiciled with the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja over allegations of cybercrime.
Force spokesperson, Frank Mba, announced on Thursday, November 19, 2020 that Onwuka Emmanuel Chidiebere, Ikechukwu Ohanedozie, and Onuegwu Ifeanyi were arrested by the unit following reliable intelligence reports.
He said a report received from the INTERPOL Cybercrime Directorate in Singapore showed that Nigerian cyber gangs were responsible for global attacks including mass email phishing campaigns, and distribution of malwares aimed at stealing authentication data from browsers and email headers.
Mba said findings have already revealed Ifeanyi specialised in creating, designing, and selling of phishing links, and hosting malwares on a website used by the gang for phishing and hacking purposes.
The 35-year-old is accused of collecting charges running into several millions of naira from other fraudsters he mentors and improves their phishing capabilities.
Chidiebere, 32, is accused of specialising in business email compromise and hacking.
Mba said the Imo State University graduate was caught with a laptop computer on which over 50,000 email accounts and websites including passwords of various individuals and corporate entities from across the world were discovered through a comprehensive forensic analysis.
He’s also accused of recruiting 34-year-old Ohanedozie, a fellow Imo State University graduate, into the gang.
Ohanedozie is accused of sorting and profiling email accounts to determine financial strengths of prospective victims, and passing on information obtained to Chidiebere.
“All the suspects will be charged to court on conclusion of investigation and prosecuted in line with the Cybercrime Prevention/Prohibition Act, 2015,” Mba said.
The news of the trio’s arrest came at the same time the Force launched a cybercrime reporting portal to advance its crackdown on internet fraud.
Mba said members of the public can make reports against fraudsters at https://incb.police.gov.ng/.
The portal caters to complaints about cybercrime and can be used by victims or complainants from any part of the world.
The portal is part of efforts to ensure ease of reportage that will enable prompt investigation, arrest, and prosecution of fraudsters, according to the Force spokesperson.
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said the Force will protect Nigeria’s cyber space and bring all cyber criminals to book.
He also assured members of the public that all reports and complaints made to the Police through the portal will be protected.
