Nigeria has been identified as one of the leading international sources of internet crime complaints in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2024 Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) Annual Report, underscoring the country’s prominent role in the global cybercrime landscape.
The report, released last week, details a record-breaking year for cybercrime, with the IC3 receiving 859,532 complaints worldwide and reporting losses surpassing $16 billion—a 33 per cent increase from 2023.
While the United States remained the most affected, Nigeria was highlighted among the top countries outside the U.S. from which internet crime complaints originated.
The IC3 report points to a range of cyber-enabled fraud schemes associated with Nigeria, including business email compromise (BEC), romance scams, and advance fee fraud.
These schemes contributed to staggering global losses, with BEC alone accounting for over $2.7 billion in 2024 and confidence and romance frauds adding another $672 million.
The FBI launched Operation Artemis, which led to the arrest of 22 Nigerian nationals linked to financially motivated sextortion schemes.
According to the FBI, about half of these individuals were directly connected to victims who took their own lives, marking a grim escalation in the human toll of cybercrime.
The number of sextortion-related tips surged by 30 per cent between October 2024 and March 2025, with over 54,000 victims reported in 2024, up from 34,000 the previous year.
Nigeria itself remains a significant target for cyberattacks. In the first half of 2024 alone, the country recorded 586,130 cyber threats, heavily impacting financial institutions, telecoms, education, and healthcare sectors.
Experts attribute the rise in attacks to ongoing digital transformation initiatives, which have expanded the attack surface for cybercriminals.
FBI Director Kash Patel said, “Reporting is one of the first and most important steps in fighting crime so law enforcement can use this information to combat a variety of frauds and scams.”
The report specifically mentions the country’s association with the infamous “Nigerian Prince” email scams, a type of phishing scheme that has been prevalent for years.
These scams typically involve fraudsters claiming to be wealthy individuals or government officials who need assistance transferring large sums of money.
