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From Facebook livestock deals that never arrived, to Instagram and Facebook shops that vanished overnight, a growing number of Nigerians are falling prey to fraudulent online vendors who exploit their social media’s reach and people’s trust.
Promises of quality goods offered at heavily discounted rates, convincing pictures and cloned customer reviews lure unsuspecting buyers into transferring money for items that never get delivered.
Most times, these fake vendors have no verifiable contact address or number. They also communicate in poor English grammar, have limited social media engagement and lock comment sections to prevent negative reviews. Behind these glossy adverts however lie digital predators and faceless scammers who have stolen legitimate vendors’ pages, cloned websites, thriving in an unregulated online marketplace, where recovery is almost impossible and justice often out of reach.
In this report, Weekend Trust highlights the ordeals of some Nigerians who have fallen prey to fake online vendors.
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When Ahmed Idris stumbled upon pictures of some healthy looking goats on a Facebook marketplace, he thought he had found a good deal and a dream-come- true. At N60,000 each, the animals looked perfect for the small livestock farm he had long wanted to start in Bwari, a suburb of Abuja. The seller, who claimed to be a fellow Edo man and a farmer in Kebbi State, spoke convincingly, shared videos and promised swift delivery. Trusting his “brother,” Ahmed sent a deposit of N130,000 for five goats.
Days passed. The goats never came. Calls went unanswered. Then the seller vanished, deleting his account and blocking Ahmed on every platform. That was when Ahmed realised that he had fallen prey to one of the many fake online vendors scamming unsuspecting Nigerians daily.
Narrating his ordeal, Ahmed said: “I messaged the number on WhatsApp and discussed the goats I saw on Facebook. They looked okay; and when I asked for the price, he told me that each goat cost N60,000. He said he was based in Kebbi State. The person also told me that he was a farmer and had 17 acres of land in Kebbi State, which was given to him by his in-law to farm.”
Ahmed said his conversation became familiar with the vendor, and along the line, in his bid to gain his trust, claimed to be from Edo State, the same state as his victim.
“He said I should not worry about placing my order, saying he was taking stock at the time to deliver in Kogi State, and if I could order at that particular time, he would put my order alongside to be delivered to me. I agreed and he eventually sent me an account number to transfer the money.
“He charged me N160,000 for three goats but asked me to pay half of the money as an advance, which is N80,000. It was a Kuda Bank account with the name, Ekhayemhe Omokhoa.
He said that after making the payment, one of his bosses at work was curious to know the transaction he was doing and was also enthralled by the look of the healthy animals, so he indicate interest in buying two goats.
“I called the vendor back and told him that my boss was also interested and he said that since it was through me, he should pay N50, 000 for each as a discount. That was how we sent him another N50,000 as advance payment, making N130,000 in total,” he said.
He said that after the payment began the long wait to receive their goods, which never happened.
“He told me that the animals would come the following Monday, but I have been calling him till today and he has not picked his calls. When I began to confront him on the social media, he blocked my contact so that I would not reach him again,” he said.
Ahmed said it was then that it dawned on him that he had fallen victim of online scam by fake vendors who use doctored videos and pictures of the animals that they never own to lure unsuspecting victims.
He said he still came across adverts from the same group on Facebook but he had realised that the vendor usually picks advertisements of products of genuine vendors, which he edits and displays on his social media accounts to scam the public.
“What he does is that if you put your advert online showcasing your products and it is attracting attention, he will download and re-modify it and take away your details. Then he will put the same advert running side by side with your own. So, if you are able to follow his own, that means you have fallen for a fake account,” Ahmed explained.
On the step he took afterwards, he said his boss reported the issue to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) but they were not able to do anything.
“They said that since the account is a mobile money account, it would be hard to trace,” he said.
Also, Emmanuel Adam came across a vendor on Instagram advertising some foodstuffs he needed to buy at home.
He was also attracted to the low price of some of the goods as he felt they may have bought it in bulk at lower prices.
“After seeing what I liked, there was an option to chat the person up on WhatsApp as there was a phone number on the link shared. Thereafter, I selected the items and everything amounted to N45,000 and N48,000. Of course everything looked genuine. There was a video and picture of the person with the goods; and there were comments from people.”
While the comments gave him confidence that the products would be delivered due to their positive notes, they were all cloned.
The assurance of the comments made him proceed to paying as some of the items were perishable goods that needed upfront payment before getting delivered.
“I made my payment with the expectation that this item would arrive the following day. But the following day turned into two days. Later, the person stopped responding to my messages on WhatsApp and stopped picking my calls,” Adam said.
He eventually took the decision to visit the address he had seen on the page but said, “The address was at Gwarimpa in Abuja, but by the time I got towards that area, there was nothing close to anyone selling any item there.
“That was when it dawned on me that I had been scammed. I immediately alerted my bank, which told me to reach out to the recipient’s bank. Unfortunately, the recipient’s bank is also a mobile money bank.
“I reached out to all my friends in financial institutions. They checked the person’s account and found that the money had been withdrawn completely. They said I had to go to court to get an affidavit to place the account on red alert.”
But for him, the whole stress was too much; and there was no guarantee that he was going to get his money back.
Anna Paul met an online vendor through a WhatsApp group chat and saved a contact. Through her status, she was excited with the variety of bags and other products up for sale by the vendor.
“The bags, which are small ones, were selling as little as N3,000, so I messaged her to get six of the bags and a bubu gown, which was N5,000. My whole order was N23,000. Since she was staying in Lagos and I am in Abuja, the plan was that she would waybill it for me.”
But on the day the vendor was supposed to send the goods, the excuse was that it was raining, so she couldn’t go to the park.
“I took the opportunity to purchase other goods worth N17,000. In all, I paid N40,000.
“After everything and it was time for delivery, she said it was raining.That day passed, and the next day, she didn’t come online and was not picking calls till the evening. When she came online, I said she should refund my money if the items were not available. She blocked me and removed me in her group. I later found out that I was not the only one she blocked, so I went ahead to chat with those she removed, only to find out that she also scammed them and removed them from the group.
Mrs Uloma Amali said she wanted to purchase fabrics for her daughter’s wedding and that due to lack of time, she decided to shop online. She said she contacted a vendor online after reviewing posts about her, which she found satisfactory. Mrs Amali said she went ahead and paid about N2 million including delivery fee, but never received the items. “After a couple of days I contacted her but my message did not deliver. I thought it was network issue. But I kept on trying and the message never delivered. It was my friend that later informed me that I had been blocked. Till date, I have not received the items. In fact I have stopped shopping online”, she said.
What to do when scammed – Experts
Speaking with Weekend Trust, a financial expert, David Elijah, said a lot of people had been scammed online and more would still be scammed if they are not careful.
“Before you buy anything online, look into the person you are about to entrust your money to. Check out their page and profile ad, as well as their social media handle. If you are convinced enough, you can go ahead,” he advised.
He added that a chat should be initiated as scammers are not always patient. “If you can hold great conversations, test them with that. Give it time; and don’t rush because the item is fine and the pressure is high, or the item is too cheap. There are other fine items that will be available at a cheaper price. You can also reach out to a trusted person to help you confirm,” he advised.
On ways to recover lost money, he said, “Take a screenshot of the conversation you had with the online vendor on the social media. Also copy out the full name and account details of the vendor who scammed you. If you made the transfer via your mobile app or SMS, go to your transaction history and copy out the “Transaction ID Number” of that transaction.”
According to him, all banks have a team in charge of online fraud, so an email should be sent to the victim’s bank’s e-fraud team, as well as the online scammer’s bank with proof of the transactions and forward a copy of the mail to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) fraud desk.
“This will help the bank to place the scammers account on hold. With this, the scammer will not be able to carry out any transaction until they visit the bank. If you don’t have their email address, you can walk into your bank or the scammer’s bank and speak to the customer service in charge of fraud to file a complaint. Your bank will direct you on the steps to recover your money.
“Report to the police and also speak to a lawyer to file an expert court order. With a court order, the bank will release the information of your scammer to the police to help track them and recover your money,” he revealed.
Also, an advisory on the website of the CBN notes that in today’s digital age, fraud and scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, posing significant risks to individuals and organisations.
In protecting oneself from these threats, it states that there should be vigilance, knowledge and the right tools.
It identified types of fraud and scams to include: “Phishing Scams, where fraudsters pose as legitimate organisations (such as banks or service providers) through emails, text messages or phone calls to trick individuals into providing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers or social security details.”
“Online shopping scams often involve fake websites or sellers offering too-good-to-be-true deals. Once payment is made, the product is never delivered, or what is delivered is of subpar quality.”
To protect oneself, it urged Nigerians to shop only from trusted and well known websites, look for secure payment gateways (indicated by “https://” in the URL) and read reviews, as well as check the website’s credibility before purchasing.
It also identified that identity theft occurs when a scammer steals personal information to commit fraud, “such as opening credit accounts in your name, making unauthorised purchases or filing fake tax returns,” as well as investment scams that promise high returns with little or no risk.
“These scams often involve fake investment opportunities, such as cryptocurrency schemes or Ponzi schemes that lure victims with promises of quick profits.”
Also, a cybersecurity expert, Alkassim Ibrahim, said the first thing one should do when one gets scammed is to get evidence of the scam (payment receipt and conversation etc).
He advised a against reporting the scammer’s account or getting it deactivated as this will lead to decreasing the chances of getting the person, especially in the event that his addresses and account login activity etc are needed by an investigator.
“Once you have compiled the evidence, go to your local law enforcement agency and file a complaint, showing the evidence. While there might not be much they can do, they at least now have a record of this scam. You may then contact a cyber-crime investigator for help.
“While there is no 100 per cent guarantee that you can get your money back, you may be lucky enough to get enough information to find and get the person arrested. This also depends on the amount you lost. If it wasn’t so much, you should let it go and learn from your mistake,” he advised.
Another cybersecurity expert, Dr KaZeem Durodoye, attributed the prevalence of online scam to increased digitisation, saying most transactional services are now digitised and can be performed online.
“This will definitely bring about an increased rate of online scam and also increase the rate of vulnerabilities in transaction platforms as a result of expansion of attack surfaces. Technology advancement like cloud computing, virtualisation and AI are expanding the attack points making it easier and more lucrative to do online scam,” he said.
He emphasised the need for an increase in cybersecurity awareness for all online users, saying his firm has a program targeted for younger generations who are active online
“Increase cyber hygiene which comes from cybersecurity awareness. Hygiene practices like using passphrases instead of passwords, using MFA. Also there should be an increase responsibility from stakeholders including public and, private sector organizations,” he said.
FCCPC speaks
Speaking on the matter, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of Nigeria (FCCPC) stated that the regulation of online vendors who pose to sell and grant services online and end up defraud unsuspecting Nigerians speaks to consumer protection in the e-commerce sector.
To ensure this is checked, the FCCPC said “The enforcement of compliance in the sector is administered by relevant sections of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018.
The following are relevant parts of the FCCPA, 2018, through which the FCCPC provides regulation in that sector includes Enforcement of Consumer Rights. Duties of Manufacturers, Importers, Distributor and Suppliers of Goods and Services amd also Enforcement of Consumer Rights.
“The Dispute Resolution Mechanism, Market Surveillance systems and its enforcement powers of relevant consumer rights have ensured that the commission has maintained a proactive and responsive stance in its role of protecting and promoting consumer interests in the sector as it has in others,” the FCCPC explained through its Deputy Director, Surveillance and investigation, Marvin Nadah.
The Commission further charged Consumers to access their dispute resolution mechanism.
“In such cases, complaints are made to the Commission against the product manufacturer and supplier, or distributor of online products or against any online service provider.
The FCCPC, through the relevant administration of its Act, is not restricted in carrying out its mandate in the e-commerce sector and continues to do so in line with its mandate,” the he added.
