Fraudsters have hacked the WhatsApp number of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, attempting to scam several of his contacts.
The incident came to light on Tuesday when some individuals in the governor’s contact list received fraudulent messages from his WhatsApp number, requesting money transfers with promises of refunds.
Governor Eno’s Chief Press Secretary, Ekerete Udoh, confirmed that the governor’s WhatsApp number had been “cloned” by criminals attempting to deceive the public. The CPS urged people to ignore such messages, clarifying they were not from the governor. Law enforcement agencies have been notified and are investigating the case to apprehend the fraudsters.
The CPS emphasized, “We warn the public to disregard any messages soliciting funds as they are not from the Governor. The authorities have been alerted and are pursuing the perpetrators.”
This follows a similar incident in July when the phone number of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, was also hacked.
The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to carefully orchestrated fraudulent posts on some social media platforms, where some criminal elements have cloned the WhatsApp number of His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, with an intent to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
“We hereby warn that any message appearing to solicit funds by these imposters should be totally discountenanced by the general public as they do not emanate from the Governor.
“The law enforcement agents have been duly alerted and are on the trail of the perpetrators of this ignoble act.”