Nigerian Army warns of COAS impersonation scam on social media

<p><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<p>The Nigerian Army has issued a public warning about scammers impersonating the <strong>Chief of Army Staff &lpar;COAS&rpar;<&sol;strong>&comma; Lieutenant General <strong>Olufemi Oluyede<&sol;strong>&comma; on social media&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a statement signed by <strong>Major General Onyema Nwachukwu&comma; Director of Army Public Relations&comma; the military cautioned Nigerians to beware of individuals using the COAS’s official<&sol;strong> portrait as a profile picture to deceive unsuspecting victims&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the statement&comma; these fraudsters operate on online platforms such as Zoom&comma; WhatsApp&comma; and Facebook&period; They lure individuals into virtual meetings and then instruct them to share phone numbers displayed on their screens&period; These numbers are later exploited for fraudulent activities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Army also identified several phone numbers frequently linked to these impersonators&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;x1f4de&semi; <strong>Fraudulent Numbers&colon;<&sol;strong><br &sol;>09033949238&comma; 09075323836&comma; 09074272745&comma; 08169257155&comma; 08064561495<br &sol;>08054138812&comma; 09161521558&comma; 09026515718&comma; 09020898622&comma; 08131333263<br &sol;>09077188584&comma; 08084529752&comma; 08147409236&comma; 09136497898&comma; 09024627712<br &sol;>07010119398&comma; 09138997224&comma; 09061549129&comma; 08163593764&comma; 07035272009<br &sol;>09018150412&comma; 08093524443&comma; 08088120581<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3>Public Advisory<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>To protect against these scams&comma; the Nigerian Army advises the public to&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;x1f539&semi; <strong>Avoid<&sol;strong> engaging in online meetings with anyone using the COAS’s official portrait as a profile picture&period;<br &sol;>&&num;x1f539&semi; <strong>Report<&sol;strong> suspicious activities or fraudulent phone numbers by calling the Army’s toll-free hotline at <strong>193<&sol;strong>&period;<br &sol;>&&num;x1f539&semi; <strong>Follow official communication channels<&sol;strong> when interacting with the Nigerian Army to prevent falling victim to impersonators&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Army emphasized the importance of staying vigilant and urged Nigerians to report any suspicious activity immediately&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;gistreel&period;com&sol;nigerian-army-warns-of-coas-impersonation-scam-on-social-media&sol;" previewlistener&equals;"true">Source link <&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;