Inside The Unsightly Underbelly Of Fraud Attacks In Nigerian Fintech

February 14, 2021.

As the world wakes up to yet another instalment of the lovers’ delight and singles’ dismay that is Valentine’s Day, Moses Emuka is too shocked to even know what day it is.

Emuka, an Ondo-based studio engineer in his late twenties, is stunned alright, but it has nothing to do with a lover’s grand gesture or the discovery that he’s the side piece after all. On that Sunday morning, he’s upset because it’s occurred to him that, as folks are gifting and getting gifted, he’s managed to gift all the money in his bank account to a scammer. 

The theft had been carried out through his online betting account on SportyBet, which was a punter's favourite among local Nigerian bettors at one time.

“At about 3:18 pm the previous day, I received a call from someone claiming to be from SportyBet while I went to buy some food items from the market. I was told that I qualified for a special bonus on SportyBet and they would like to confirm that the SportyBet account be...