Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service has arrested two persons (names withheld) in Markudi, the Benue State capital who specialize in using the Facebook social media site in advertising fake car auction sales to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
The disclosure of the arrests which was made to participants in the course of a one day workshop organised by the Customs recently further reinforced the service resolve to bring to a halt the plethora of fake customs auction adverts on various social media platforms,particularly on Facebook. They are suspected to have opened several facebook accounts using funny names and impersonating some high ranking officers of the service.
The suspects target popular newspaper walls and various active group pages to post the car sales adverts as comments to attract wide viewership. This is in addition to several pages created for same purpose where they display pictures of vehicles with mouth watering prices ostensibly gotten from car sales sites to attract whoever visits the pages.
Addressing participants at the opening session of the event Dikko Abdullahi,Controller General of Customs, said the service is really concerned over the rate at which fraudsters are using its name to perpetuate their nefarious activities. He dissociated himself and the customs service from some Facebook accounts created in his name and fake customs websites being used to swindle job seekers.
Abdullahi urged participants at the workshop to join the service in spreading the enlightenment campaigns aimed at discouraging Nigerians from from being defrauded by internet fraudsters who seems to have made the name of the customs using various photographs of is senior operatives as cover for deceit.
Adding that all auction of seized vehicles or other wares purportedly advertised by the Customs on Facebook and other sites are fake and intended to swindle people.
The event which addressed issues like identity theft and phishing was attended by notable Non Government Organisations with strong presence on the social media, lawyers, media practitioners, customs officers and activists who resolved to partner with the NCS in curbing anti customs criminal activities and other vices.
Deploying ICT to effective use for trade facilitation through newly improvised platforms like the Nigeria Trade Hub, an informative and interactive site put in place by the Nigeria Customs was featured as part of the workshop.
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