India police arrest Nigerian man for duping victims of over N28m in guise of providing jobs abroad

The Rachakonda Cybercrime police has arrested a 30-year-old Nigerian national for duping people on social media platforms on the pretext of providing jobs abroad.

The suspect identified as Daniel Obiano, a resident of Bengaluru, who came to India on a student visa, was arrested on Monday, August 9.

Between May and July this year, Obiano and his associates allegedly cheated a software engineer from Kushaiguda and his cousin to the tune of Rs 51.3 lakh (N28,233,119.24) by promising to secure jobs for them in Canada. 

Following a complaint, the Cybercrime police booked a case and with the help of technical evidence nabbed him from Bengaluru. 

Police seized smart phones, SIM cards and other material from the accused and also froze his bank accounts with with a sum of cash of Rs 7.1 lakh. 

According to the police, the accused came into contact with other Nigerians in Bengaluru, and learnt about cyber frauds from them. He began cheating Indian citizens on social media platforms posing as a European. 

"For this, Daniel along with his associates, created fake profiles on Facebook and sent friend requests to youngsters. They procured ATM cards of random people with the help of some agents by paying commissions. Similarly, they also bought SIM cards from shops without submitting any documents,” said Mahesh Bhagwat, Police Commissioner, Rachakonda.

The Rachakonda Police advised citizens not to accept backdoor job offers, adding that legitimate employers will never ask one to send money to acquire jobs.

"If you are being asked to send money for the Registration  Fee, VISA fee, Bank account opening, Security Deposit, etc, it's very likely a scam and you should walk away." the Police added.