An internet fraud victim, Vonapolouis Moss, has explained ho she was tricked into Nigeria by a 23-year-old suspected internet fraudster otherwise known as “yahoo boy”.
According to The PUNCH, the United States female citizen, revealed that she was lured into the country on January 9, 2023, by the suspect, who ripped her off thousands of dollars since her arrival.
She went on to say that she met him on TikTok, a social networking platform, and that he claimed to be an American named Howard Adams who is presently working in Nigeria and that he needed $1,000 USD, for which she was initially ripped off.
According to the state police command, the suspected fraudster, Joshua Awoleye, a Higher Diploma Student of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, allegedly attracted the foreigner and swindled her out of $1000 when she arrived in Nigeria.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, paraded the suspect at the Police Headquarters in Ilorin on Friday, saying that Joshua Awoleye of Sabo-Oke Road, Ilorin lured the foreigner lured whom he met on the internet from the United States of America to Ilorin, Kwara State capital, lodged her in a Hotel, and defrauded her of thousands of dollars.
According to the CP, “On January 12, 2023, at about 1200 hours, based on actionable intelligence, operatives of the SCID at the Kwara State Police command arrested one Awoleye Joshua Oluwatofunmi, “male” of Sabo-Oke Road, Ilorin, within the premises of a hotel along Flower Garden Road, Ilorin, in company with one Vonapolouis Moss, “female” an American citizen.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, who is an internet fraudster known as Yahoo Boy, presented himself to the victim on TikTok, a social media platform, as an American by the name of Howard Adams and ripped her off for about 1,000 USD.
“The suspect later took a step further by luring the victim to fly into Nigeria on January 9, 2023, through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, after which she flew into Ilorin the next day and was received by the suspect.
The suspect also deceitfully took an unspecified amount of USD from the victim before she was rescued by police operatives.
“The necessary authorities have been contacted for appropriate action, he said.
Odama said that “the rescued victim has been moved into secure custody by the State Police Command pending her return trip to the USA.”
Speaking in an interview with newsmen, Vonapoloius said that she arrived in the country on Monday night and moved from Lagos to Ilorin on Tuesday morning.
“We met on social media and he invited me to visit Nigeria but when I came, he took me to the bureau de change to change money to Nigeria currency and he also took me to ShopRite. When the money on me finished, he told me to tell my people to send more money.
The foreigner who said that she likes the country’s environment however stated that she likes to go back to America.
“I like Nigeria and i will like to come back but what i want now is to go back to America”, she said.
The Police Commissioner stated that while Joshua admitted to being a Yahoo suspect, he would not be given over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Operatives but would be probed by the Police and charged in court after a complete examination of his alleged crimes.
