EFCC cautions public on fake social media handles, addresses

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged members of the public to be wary of fake social media handles and addresses created by unscrupulous individuals to spread falsehood and misrepresent its activities.

Its Spokesman, Tony Orilade gave the warning in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, saying since the EFCC was established in 2003, it has embraced online and offline platforms to expose corruption in its effort to sanitise society and punish fraudsters.

He noted that some anti-social elements have been relentless in seeking to undermine its effort by cloning the commission’s social media handles and addresses and using same to perpetrate fraud.

“Section 6 (p) of the EFCC Establishment Act captures its mandate for sensitisation and enlightenment. On the strength of this, the commission employs social media as a strong tool in exposing financial crimes and corruption.

“This is compelling, given the enormity of the task on our hands and the need to properly and adequately inform members of the public on financial crimes and corruption and to check the spread of fake news as it concerns the commission.

“It is imperative for the public to know and be able to identify the commission’s authentic social media platforms and strictly interface with the commission via those platforms,” he stated.

Orilade further notified the public that Facebook: @officialefcc; Instagram: @officialefcc and Twitter: @officialefcc were its authentic social media handles and addresses.

He admonished those who wish to interface with the commission through social media platforms to note that its authentic social media handles and addresses now bear a blue tick.

He explained that the blue tick indicating verification by Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, make the handles safe, secure and affirms that it belongs to the rightful owner of the page.

“The commission also wishes to state that all its social media handles and addresses have exactly the same Eagle logo. We state that our authentic social media platforms are interactive, easy-to-use and can be trusted,” he said.

Orilade also urged members of the public to make enquiries through its verified social media handles and addresses and report cases that fall within its purview through them, adding that the commission could be reached on its hotline: +2348093322644 and email address: info@efccnigeria.org.