You sent the money. Maybe it was a promising investment platform that suddenly stopped paying. Maybe it was a seller on Instagram who collected your payment and disappeared. Maybe it was a romance that slowly turned into a request for funds and then silence. Maybe it was a fake job offer, a phishing link, or a crypto trade that went wrong.
Whichever way it happened, the feeling is the same: shock, shame, anger, and the desperate question! The answer in many cases, is not necessary. But what you do in the first 24 to 72 hours after discovering you have been scammed will determine whether you have any realistic chance of recovering your money or seeing justice done.
This blog will walk you through every legal step available to you as a victim of online fraud in Nigeria from the moment you realize you have been scammed to the options available for civil and criminal redress.
Online fraud is a serious crime in Nigeria
Many Nigerians who are scammed online feel embarrassed and do nothing. This is exactly what fraudsters count on. The law is firmly on your side. Online fraud in Nigeria is criminalized under multiple statutes, and the penalties are severe. The laws include: Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015, Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Establishment Act 2004 etc. You have rights. You have remedies. Use them.
What to do immediately you discover you have been scammed
Speed is everything. The faster you act, the better your chances of freezing the fraudster’s account before funds are moved.
Do not panic but act immediately
The worst thing you can do is freeze in shock or spend the first few hours telling family members about what happened without taking action. Every minute matters, especially if the fraud involved a bank transfer, because Nigerian banks can freeze accounts on instruction but only if you act quickly enough.
Screenshot and preserve everything
Before you do anything else before you confront the scammer, block them, or delete the conversation preserve all evidence.
Screenshot or save:
- Every chat message, WhatsApp conversation, Facebook chats, Instagram chats, Telegram chats, voice notes or DM
- Every email from the scammer, including the full email address
- Every payment receipt, bank notification, or transaction confirmation
- The scammer’s profile pages, phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, and account details
- Any website URLs associated with the scam
- Any bank account names and numbers the fraudster gave you
Do not delete any of these. Evidence is everything in a cybercrime case. The EFCC and the courts will need it, and without it, your case weakens considerably.
Call your bank customer service line immediately
If the scam involved a bank transfer, call your bank’s fraud or customer service line within the hour. Most Nigerian banks have 24-hour fraud lines, and they can place a Post-No-Debit (PND) order or a freeze on the recipient’s account if the funds have not yet been moved.
Key information to have ready when you call:
- Your account number
- The exact amount transferred
- The date and time of the transfer
- The account name and number you transferred to
- The bank name of the recipient
Follow up this call in writing by email to the bank’s fraud department on the same day, so there is a written record of when you reported it.
some of the banks fraud line are listed below:
- Access Bank: 07003000000, 0201-2802500, or stopfraud@accessbankplc.com.
- FCMB: 07003290000 or email frauddesk@fcmb.com.
- GTBank: +234 700 4826 66328 or 1 448 0000.
- Polaris Bank: 0706-202-1807, 08069880000, or fraudhelp@polarisbanklimited.com.
- Keystone Bank: +234 700 2000 3000 or contactcentre@keystonebankng.com.
- UBA: +234 700 2255 822 or cfc@ubagroup.com.
- Moniepoint: 02018889990 or frauddesk@moniepoint.com.
- Fidelity Bank: 070034335489 or true.serve@fidelitybank.ng.
Report to the EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is your primary port of call for online fraud in Nigeria. The EFCC have a Cybercrime Rapid Response Desk that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, processing real-time tips via hotline and email.
Once a petition is received by the EFCC, it undergoes a preliminary assessment to determine whether the case has merit, after which it is assigned to the appropriate zonal command or specialized cybercrime unit. Investigators carry out discreet surveillance, online and offline, and conduct background checks on persons of interest.
Report to the Nigeria Police Force Cybercrime Unit
The Nigeria Police Force has a dedicated Cybercrime Unit that deals with internet fraud and cyber-related crimes, and has launched a Cybercrime Reporting Portal where you can file complaints online.
You should report to both the EFCC and the NPF not because you need to choose between them, but because filing with both increases the chances of your case being acted upon. The NPF Cybercrime Unit can also issue court orders more quickly in some circumstances, particularly for freezing accounts or compelling platforms to disclose user data.
Visit your nearest police station and ask to file a complaint with the cybercrime desk. Obtain a police extract or First Information Report (FIR), this is an official document confirming that you have reported the crime, and you will need it for your bank, for the EFCC, and for any civil proceedings.
Report to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
If the scam involved a phone call, SMS, or a fraudulent number used to deceive you, report it to the Nigerian Communications Commission at ncc.gov.ng or call 622 (the NCC consumer hotline). The NCC has the power to bar phone numbers used for fraud and to compel telecoms providers to provide identity information about SIM card users.
Report to the relevant platform
If the scam happened on a specific platform like: Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, a fake website, an investment app report it to that platform immediately:
Note: Beyond reporting to the authorities and hoping for criminal prosecution, you have independent legal options to pursue recovery of your money in court in Nigeria.
A civil action is separate from and independent of any criminal prosecution by the EFCC or NPF. You do not need to wait for the criminal case to conclude before commencing your civil claim. You can pursue both simultaneously. Engage a lawyer immediately if you want to pursue your case in court.
In conclusion, online fraud thrives because most victims do nothing. They are embarrassed, they assume nothing can be done, or they do not know where to start. Fraudsters know this and they rely on it.
The Nigerian legal system has robust tools to investigate, prosecute, and recover assets from cybercriminals. The EFCC has demonstrated real capability in this space securing thousands of convictions and recovering hundreds of billions of naira. The courts recognize electronic evidence. The banks can freeze accounts. The law is real.
But none of these tools work unless you pick up your phone, preserve your evidence, and report today!
You do not deserve to be scammed. You deserve justice. In Nigeria, the legal machinery to pursue that justice exists. Use it to your advantage!
For further enquiries
Email: info@verazadvocates.com.ng
Call/ WhatsApp: +234 8116486356
