Cyber Crime: Time to seal an end to a mischievous wild fire

The preponderance of cyber crime has most recently become a troubling phenomenon in Nigeria. The spread of the menace like wild fire is an endemic cankerworm eating deep into the fabrics of the entire society. Beyond its domestic troubles, its impact on the image of the Country in the international realm is less desirable. The unsavoury profile of cyber crime from Nigerian nationals have attracted a cynical and stereotypic perception by foreigners against Nigerians with a generalising orientation.

While in the past cyber crime used to have its major hold on the targets of foreigners by mischievous Nigerians who are majorly youths. Its tentacles have extended to attract several dimensional brands in recent times. The spread of the tentacles of the menace is such that now portend serious threats to not only foreigners, but more disturbing, Nigerians in the Country. The phenomenon has grown to attract sensations of distrust and suspicion in the Nigerian society with undesirable stench rubbing off on the Country from the international frontiers.

The brandishing of several variants of cyber crime within Nigeria has been endemic in recent times. The preponderance of diverse forms of channels to perpetrate the menace has become disturbing. The menace of the decadence is now becoming a misadventure which many Nigerian youth are now settling for as a venture for work. With the influx of people into the mischief, newer forms of network channels have continued to brew forth with deceptive devices to lure Nigerians into falling into the gimmicks of the plot of the venture. Many victims who have fallen prey of the ploy have had their monies and investment lost to these misadventure spreading like wild fire. The menace has assumed another troubling variant of insecurity in the Country.

One of the new strategies of cyber crime branded most recently is the development of fake site of government and foremost private organizations with deceptive proposals to obtain vital information from unsuspecting Nigerians. The spread of these strategies has continued to wax wider with different devices employed to get members of the public deceived. Many of these ploys are now exploiting job application means, since it is known that millions of Nigerians are desperately in need of jobs. Many job seekers have most recently fallen prey to these mischievous elements in the Nigerian society.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on Saturday distanced itself from a rumour making the rounds that the commission is recruiting. In a statement obtained from its facebook handle, the EFCC, had said that it “wishes to alert the public about fake EFCC Recruitment Form 2021 circulating on the social media, and to warn that the Commission is currently not recruiting. Fraudsters are circulating forged Offer of Employment Letters, purporting same to be from the EFCC, and extorting members of the public. The public should note that, there is no ongoing recruitment in the EFCC. The purported ‘EFCC Recruitment Form 2021’ as well as the ‘official recruitment portal’ and ‘Offer of Employment Letters’ are non -existent. For the avoidance of doubt, recruitment into the EFCC is a structured, transparent and merit-driven process which is always heavily advertised through the mass media and the Commission’s social media platforms. It is highly automated, with no place for the so-called Employment Form. The EFCC is on the trail of the scammers behind this devious scheme as no efforts will be spared to bring them to justice. The Commission urges the public to cross check any doubtful information with the agency through: [email protected].”

It is important for Nigerians at this time to be highly sensitive in their daily dealings with applications and transaction of business. The necessity to always give a benefit of doubt to confirm the sources of information before enacting any deal is paramount. The present state of situation in the Country has created an atmosphere where Nigerians are advised to always engage in two or more steps of confirmation before giving consideration to deal or proposals for applications. It is essential for Nigerians to make critical efforts for confirmation from reliable sources of information before acting on any piece of information demanding for sensitive data from them. It is therefore significant that beyond social media, Nigerians should learn to make more efforts to develop the culture of taking further steps to confirm the veracity of any information from reliable sources and media, since social media is now known to be a platform where various forms of unfounded information thrive uncontrollably.

It is important for the Government to strengthen its operations against cyber crime and fraud. The necessity lies on the Government to fortify its efforts on stemming down the wings of the menace with forceful operations to hunt  mischief makers who are given to the misadventure. It is paramount for the government to launch an effective campaign to discourage the spread of the menace in the Nigerian society. Efforts should be made to develop Police architecture with specialised operations fortified with sophisticated machineries to track down cyber crime fraudsters. It is therefore, equally important for the Government to extend such provisions to other security agencies in the Country with synergistic system that allows for complement of efforts among these agencies.

It is paramount for the government to institute processes within the judicial system where the trial of cyber crime suspects can be effected with fast pace and the records released to the public from time to time. This alongside other public enlightenment strategies and campaigns, should be corroborated to sensitise and deter prospective fraudsters from venturing into the misadventure. More importantly, it is essential for the Government at all  levels to give the subject of youth empowerment utmost importance. Since it is argued that many youth venturing into the mischievous trade of cyber crime do so to make ends meet due to lack of jobs, duty calls on the Government to make drastic efforts towards changing the narrative of the unsavoury profile of youth unemployment in the Country. It is a right argument that when there are job opportunities, many youth who may be lured to venture into cyber crime among other mischievous acts, will channel their energy into resourceful ventures that will be to the benefit of the entire populace and the Government. The menace of cyber crime has further discoloured the atmosphere of a reasonable society in the Country, with debilitating effects on security profile. It has deeply heightened the sensation of distrust and suspicion which has continued to wreck havoc on the entire fabric of the Country. It is therefore high time for a stop to be sealed on the menace.