Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the word "Cybercrime" in this illustration taken on February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoNigeria has deported 102 convicted foreign cybercriminals, including 60 Chinese nationals and 39 Filipinos, in one of the country’s biggest clampdowns on online fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the move on Thursday, describing the deportees as members of “cyber-terrorism and internet fraud” networks. Authorities said the gangs used romance scams to trick victims, mainly in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, into investing their life savings i nonexistent cryptocurrency schemes.
EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed that since August 15, another group of 39 Filipinos, 10 Chinese, and two Kazakhs had also been deported, with more expulsions scheduled in the coming days.
The crackdown follows the December 2024 raid in Lagos’ affluent Victoria Island, where authorities arrested 792 suspected cybercriminals in a single swoop. At least 192 were foreigners, including 148 Chinese nationals, according to the EFCC. Images released by the agency showed dozens of masked Asian men lined up at airport counters before deportation.
Nigeria, often associated with its local fraudsters nicknamed “Yahoo Boys”, has become a hotspot for foreign cybercrime syndicates exploiting the country’s weak cybersecurity systems. Investigators revealed that these foreign gangs often recruit Nigerian accomplices to find victims online through phishing and fake investment pitches.
Cybersecurity experts warn that such fraudulent schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, leaving victims, many of whom commit their savings, business funds, or borrowed money, helpless as they watch their investments vanish.
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