Some Lagos residents on Saturday complained about the rising wave of cybercrime in the country and urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to check the menace.
Cybercrime is the use of the Internet for criminal activities, which range from Internet hacking to scam, extortion, fraud and impersonation.
Residents urged the Federal Government to expedite actions to fight the menace.
A cybercafé operator, Mr Obinna Iheanyi, stressed that cybercrime had seriously tarnished Nigeria’s image.
He noted that the Internet had created myriad opportunities for commercial, social and educational activities, adding, however, some unscrupulous individuals had abused the use of the Internet.
``I was made on a certain occasion to send my financial details to a stranger who sent me convincing details of my bank account and urged me to transfer a huge sum of money for my account’s upgrade,’’ he said.
Iheanyi said that many unsuspecting members of the public had been defrauded in such manner.
A banker, Mr Patrick Oreki, said that Internet fraud could be perpetrated from any part of the world, advising Nigerians to be wary of the machinations of Internet fraudsters.
``Criminal activities could be faster, easier and more damaging with the use of the Internet,’’ he noted.
Oreki said that many countries had developed strategies for preventing, detecting and checking cybercrime; stressing that Nigeria should also take a cue from such countries.
``Fighting cybercrime requires not just knowledge of Information Technology (IT) but also IT intelligence, on the part of security agencies.
``In this clime, there is a serious shortage of skills to deal with threats associated with IT,” he said.
Mr Chimezie Emuka, a student of the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri, said that those perpetrating cybercrime were conversant-with computer applications, adding that efforts to check their activities required advanced IT knowledge.
``To fight cybercrime, those involved have to spend time to learn about cybercrime processes before devising strategies to fight it,’’ he said.
Another cybercafé operator, Mr Sunday Nwadike, said: ``These cyber criminals are smart and intelligent; we need to adopt a holistic approach in tackling them.’’
He, nonetheless, warned the people against the temptation of responding to phony telephone text messages and calls informing them that they had won some money.
Nwadike said that those who were not wary of such messages were likely to fall victim to the plots of cyber fraudsters.
Ikorodu residents urge LASG to curb crime rate
Some residents of Ikorodu in Lagos on Saturday called on the Lagos State Government to check the increasing crime rate in the community.
Some of the residents said they were being robbed in daylight, particularly around the roundabout in the town.
Mr Babajide Samuel, a student, said the criminals usually monitored their victims and would seize any opportunity to rob them.
“Recently, I went to the bank to cash a cheque for my school fees and the money I withdrew was to be deposited in another bank, just about 100 metres away.
“On my way to the next bank, someone bumped into me and I apologised to him because he started abusing me in spite the fact that he was at fault.
“As I moved from that point, a woman just said, ‘foolish boy, they just removed your money’. Immediately, I checked my pocket and discovered that my jean was torn and the N52, 000 I withdrew was missing.”
Mrs Victoria Akinola, a medical practitioner, said that she was shocked by the audacity and smartness of the thieves that robbed her.
“I was held in traffic at Benson Bus stop in Ikorodu, suddenly two men tapped the glass of my car and ordered me to wind down.
“I obeyed them because they had shown me the pistol hidden under their shirts. I was told to cooperate by bringing out the money I just collected from the bank.
“Fortunately, I had some money in the dashboard of my car, which I gave to them and they greeted me, shouting ‘mama rere’ meaning `good woman` so that people around will not suspect them,” she said.
Akinola urged the government to come to the rescue of the residents by sending plain clothe security officials who could unmask the thieves.
Mr Sunday Ayinla, an artisan, said that the thieves took advantage of busy and crowded areas within the town to carry out their activities.
“My experience was even funny. I had my phone in my pocket with an earpiece plugged in because I was listening to music and it was removed expertly without my awareness.
``I noticed that the music had stopped and was about checking the reason when I noticed that the phone was missing and just the earpiece was in my ears.”
Mr kazeem Ajibade, an engineer, suggested that security operatives in Ikorodu should be more vigilant for them to apprehend the robbers.
He urged the state government to create more employment opportunities so as to reduce the crime rate.
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