Customs Arrests 12 Suspects over Job Scam, Disclaims

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has arrested 12 suspects alleged to be scammers, who extort money from unwary job-seekers to help them secure non-existent employment with the Service.

NCS also announced its resolve to launch an all-out war against internet fraudsters who specialise in extorting money from innocent Nigerians under the pretext of offering them jobs, auctions or contracts.

This integrated onslaught on the social media, is coming on the heels of recent upsurge of fraudsters using the name of the Nigeria Customs Service to solicit applications for non-existent job offers for a fee that is usually paid into personal bank accounts

The Customs, in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, stated that the advertisement currently circulating on the WhatsApp platform is the latest of those criminal attempts to mislead desperate job-seekers.

“The post which went viral over the weekend is a copy and paste reproduction of the previous recruitment adverts, with a clever insertion of the Service website address.

“To achieve their criminal objective, the same advert directs applicants to visit a fake website which is www.customsrecruit.com.ng. Victims are eventually requested to make some payments to complete the phoney forms.
“Already 12 suspects have been arrested and will be soon charged to court.

“The general public is therefore advised to discountenance such advertisements found in any online platforms except those released in the NCS authentic and authoritative platforms:www.customs.gov.ng and www.facebook.com/customsng,” the statement added.

To avoid being victims, the NCS advised all prospective job seekers, and those who want to transact any business with the Service to note the official online platforms as well as visit the nearest Customs station when in doubt.