TheCable

Tokunbo Afikuyomi, a former senator, has narrated how fraudsters hacked his phone and deceived his friends to transfer millions of naira to them.

The former senator said the scammers on Saturday morning “temporarily seized control” of his WhatsApp, a messaging application.

Afikuyomi, in a statement on Sunday, said the hackers sent fraudulent messages to his friends demanding money on his behalf.

The former senator said some of his friends called him via the telephone to confirm the fraudulent request while others “innocently sent” millions of naira to the accounts provided by the scammers.

“I immediately complained to the relevant security and regulatory agencies and I thank the anti-fraud unit of the police for springing into action immediately,” the former senator said.

“Their efforts led to identifying some of the account numbers and the details of the respective owners through which the scammers collected various sums of money.

“The security agents are also already deploying technology to geo-locate the perpetrators. Investigations by relevant agencies are still ongoing.”

Afikuyomi said he had suspended the use of his WhatsApp phone number until after the completion of the investigation.

“I must at this stage express my dismay with the lack of due diligence in the bank account opening and maintenance system in our country,” he said.

“This is what has come out so far in the investigation of this phone hacking scam.

“The scammers opened so many bank accounts without supplying the banks with the necessary security checks and details required by the law.

“In the same manner, it is now obvious that some of the Over the Top Media Services (OTT) providers do not fully comply with the provision of Nigeria’s Data Privacy and Protection Laws.”

The former senator advised Nigerians to be more careful while responding to messages from acquaintances