The Nigerian Army High Command on Saturday alerted citizens to be wary of an increasing number of imposters claiming to be the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, on various social media platforms.
The Army lamented that the imposters have continued to perpetrate this mischief using the official portrait of the COAS as a profile picture on their social media accounts.
This was contained in a statement made available to Defence Correspondents in Abuja by the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu.
The statement, titled “Be Wary of Imposters Claiming to Be Chief of Army Staff,” reads: “The Nigerian Army has been inundated with complaints of an increasing number of imposters claiming to be the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, on various social media platforms.
“The imposters have continued to perpetrate this mischief using the official portrait of the COAS as a profile picture on their social media accounts.
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“It is imperative to state that this is not the first time imposters have attempted to impersonate the COAS on social media platforms to dupe unsuspecting members of the public. A new trend observed, however, is the fixing of online/virtual meetings on Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook, and other online platforms.
“During these meetings, the imposters demand that participants share specific numbers that appear on their screens, which the imposters then use to engage participants individually and subsequently defraud them.
“So far, the Nigerian Army has identified the following numbers as being frequently used by the fraudsters:
“While the Nigerian Army, like other sister services of the Armed Forces, has established means of communication known to all officers and soldiers, members of the public must be wary of the dangers posed by these imposters.
“They are, therefore, urged to refrain from participating in any online meeting organized on social media platforms using the official portrait of the COAS as a display picture.
“Members of the public are enjoined to report such mobile numbers used to arrange online or virtual meetings through the Nigerian Army toll-free call center number 193 for appropriate follow-up action.
“The Nigerian Army entreats both personnel and civilians to be cautious when engaging in any social media, online, or virtual meeting or call purportedly involving the Nigerian Army hierarchy. Established protocols and procedures should be relied upon while remaining vigilant against the wiles of scammers.”
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