Repentant ‘Yahoo boys’ offer to support FG’s anti- cyber crime war
The first batch of rehabilitated cybercrime suspects have offered to help the Federal Government to fight the menace in the country.
The eight suspects, who were presented by the Velma ARC Foundation in Abuja after they went through one-month rehabilitation bootcamp in Ilesa, Osun State between January 20 and February 16, introduced their pet projects which will curtail the crime.
Some of the projects would tackle scams in database, Fake alerts, multiple sim cards, phishing, IMEI number forgery, phone trackers, fake social media accounts and employment scams.
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One of the repentant yahoo boys said his project is aimed at using biometrics to deny suspects under investigation access to the internet because law enforcement agencies who don’t understand the workings of the fraud simply arrest and jail the fraudsters who continue to make money while in prison.
One of the yahoo boys said he is working on use of social media fake accounts with special security feature linked with BVN and NIM numbers, which will stop multiple fake social media accounts.
The project director of Velma ARC, David Ashaolu said the enactment of Cybercrime Act, 2015, did not address the crime but merely brought it to the fore as the cybercrime has continued to rise in the country. He therefore called for alternative means of fighting the scourge.
“What we are trying to do is to go to the streets and mop up cyber criminals, rehabilitate them and give them new means of livelihood, and also use them to fight the crime. So, it is a complete 180 degrees turnaround for these guys. They go from perpetrators to prosecutors,” he said.
A coordinator of the programme, Joy Wanne, said outreaches conducted by the foundation in secondary schools and markets in Osun State said the crime has entered deep into the society.
Carla Ceravolo, an Australian and romance scam victim, said the initiative is one of the unconventional alternatives to addressing the problem of cybercrimes in Nigeria.
Participants from NFIU, EFCC, and Ministry of Justice called for concerted efforts to tackle the menace which has continued to tarnish the image of Nigeria internationally, and deny overseas opportunities to many genuine Nigerians.
