Nigerians losing money to fraudulent investment schemes, says EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, raised the alert at the rate in which citizens of Nigeria send requests concerning false investment schemes that assured great profits with little risk.

The EFCC showed concern that even with the enforcement and public enlightenment interferences from it and other shareholders, such investment scams had kept on flourishing.

A statement by the commission named, ‘EFCC raises the alarm over fraudulent investment schemes’ released by its Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, showed that some Nigerians were losing their well-deserved money to scammers.

The statement partly read, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is alarmed at the rate Nigerians send petitions to the Commission on fraudulent investments that promise high return with little risks to investors.

“Hapless citizens are losing their hard-earned money to fraudsters, compounding the nation’s economic woes. Many have lost, and are still losing, money to Ponzi schemes, forex trading and most recently, Bitcoin trading.”

Cautioning Nigerians to abstain from taking complete risk in desperation to earn a bonus, the EFCC warned that such schemes like Bitcoin and forex trading were typically not regulated and liable to fraud.

It charged Nigerians to be cautious of false schemes and fight the allurement of fast profit that could end in wretchedness.

The statement added, “Though risk-taking is considered by some as the oxygen that drives investment decisions, the Commission wishes to warn the public against taking unmitigated risk in desperation to earn a windfall. Investment in Bitcoin, for instance, is a high risk activity as the terrain is largely unregulated, and prone to fraud.

“The EFCC wishes to state that while it will continue to investigate and prosecute persons complicit in fraudulent investment schemes, it is incumbent on the investing public to be circumspect in their investment decisions.

“Any investment that promises returns that look too good to be true should be considered a red flag. Those who ignore this advisory do so at their own risks.”