LAGOS NOVEMBER 18TH (URHOBOTODAY)-As this year Yuletide season draws closer, and considering the economic crunch that hits the country in recent times continued to bite harder, activities of scammers popularly known as Yahoo-Yahoo have begun to increase in Ughelli and environs.
This time the scammers are using their female friends to scam the unsuspecting Church members.
The church being easily swayed by such false hope have become a fertile ground for scammers to carry out their nefarious activities, as most of them, in their ignorance, are not able to separate facts from fiction thus become easy prey to the scammers.
Investigation carried out by our correspondent revealed that members of Anglican Church, Afiesere, in Ughelli North Local Government Area were already at the verge of being scammed.
According to one the members who spoke to our correspondent without mentioning her name, disclosed that one of the scammers who claimed to be a member of a Pentecostal church (name withheld), had been going from church to church in Ughelli and environs to scam unsuspecting congregations.
She disclosed that the woman scammer visited the Afiesere Anglican Church on Friday during the weekly fasting prayer meeting to canvas for people to register with the sum 2,500 (two thousand five hundred naira) after which they would be given grant to the tune of N5, million naira and above.
The member said due to support gotten from some members of the congregation, many began to show interest and collected the form as they were told with assurance that the money would be paid before Christmas.
According to her, the scammer told them that the money was released by foreign governments to Nigerian government as grant to fight poverty but the federal government had sat on the money with a view to embezzle it, but as it were, the foreign governments had to force the Nigerian government to release the money.
The member who warned the general public to be watchful of “Greek gift” said some people who were not satisfied with the explanation of the scammer left in anger while others with the urge to get rich at all cost continued to jostle for forms.
Commenting on the incidence, Mrs Dora Oru, described the situation as wicked and evil for a Christian to defraud a fellow Christian.
Mrs Oru swore that people who took advantage of others for the benefit of their urge to get rich would one day face the judgement of God and advised Christians to shun greed and anything that could make them fall into the hands of fraudsters.
Peoples Daily