Two Nigerians, Arafat Eniola Arowokoko and Afeez Opeyemi Arowokoko have been sued by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta for allegedly engaging in financial crimes on the social media platforms.
Meta and its Financial service provider, Chime Financial, this week filed a joint lawsuit at the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California, after accusing both Nigerians of luring Facebook and Instagram users to phishing websites. This, they did in attempts to extract credentials and funds from victims’ financial accounts, Meta said.
According to the social media giant, between March 2020 and October 2021, both suspects allegedly were involved in using a network of not less than 800 fake Instagram and five Facebook accounts to scam countless people.
Due to the size of the network they controlled, Eniola and Opeyemi, based in Nigeria, were able to scam Facebook and Instagram users, evade authorities and continue their nefarious activities unhindered for nineteen months.
After their crimes were brought to Meta’s notice (formerly called Facebook), the company took several enforcement actions against the two individuals in June 2021. Meta said it disabled accounts used by them on Facebook and Instagram, blocked the phishing domains on its platforms and also sent both individuals, cease and desist letters.
The financial technology company, Chime Financial also claimed that both Eniola and Afeez Arowokoko compromised their company’s integrity by impersonating them and other service providers.
Meta and Chime Financial in the first joint lawsuits alleged that both defendants violated the social media platform’s Terms and Policies. The Arowokokos also committed brand infringement, they said. The companies also claimed they lost millions of dollars in statutory damages. In the lawsuits, both US firms seek to permanently ban the defendants from Facebook and Instagram.
Noting how impersonation scams are difficult for the social media company, Meta Director of Platform Enforcement and Litigation, Jessica Romero said the lawsuit “represents a major step forward in cross-industry collaboration against this abuse.”
“Online impersonation is prohibited across Meta technologies, and we’ll continue to take action to protect the people who use our technologies. Cross-industry collaboration is critical to disrupting this abuse and to Meta’s broader efforts to combat online impersonation,” Meta added.
