A British woman who fell victim to a romance scam and lost her life savings to an internet fraudster has received $26,000 from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The commission said in a statement on Tuesday, August 29, that Christine Brown, a 70-year-old British national, was deceived by an online impostor who claimed to be an American entertainer and lured her into a romantic relationship.
The Benin Zonal Command of the commission handed over the sum of $26,000 to Ms. Brown on Monday, August 28, after recovering it from the fraudster.
“Brown thanked the Commission for its efforts, which, she said, brought her some relief after she was swindled of her life savings by the fraudster,” the statement said.
According to her petition to the Commission, Brown met a man online who introduced himself as John Barrowman, an American entertainer.
“She did not know he was a scammer. Brown said they became romantically involved, and the scammer started to ask for money which she sent to him through wire transfers, Bitcoin, and gift cards,” the statement said.
Kanu Idagu, the Zonal Commander, while presenting the recovered fund, said the Commission will continue to fulfill its mandate for the benefit of the society.
“We are doing a lot to ensure that victims of fraud are restituted where possible, and we will do more,” Idagu said.
