Seven men have been arrested in Nigeria after intelligence identified a scam compound targeting UK victims.

These arrests were the result of co-operation between the National Crime Agency, Meta and the Nigerian Police.

The men were allegedly operating an online investment scam centre in Agbor, Nigeria, where they were seeking victims in the UK and US.

It is not known at this stage how many UK victims there were. Hundreds of fake Facebook accounts were potentially used to target victims.

Using these bogus social media accounts to impersonate cryptocurrency traders, they targeted people who used legitimate investment platforms, sharing false positive reviews to lure people into sending money to the fraudsters.

The compound was also allegedly recruiting and training young people in targeting victims for future investment frauds and phishing attacks. A total of 26 phones, 42 sim cards and a laptop were seized on 13 January.

Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud at the National Crime Agency, said: “These arrests were made possible thanks to our close partnership working with Meta and our law enforcement partners in Nigeria.

“This action marks a significant step in our collective fight against fraudsters operating overseas, and will help in our mission to protect the public in the UK from serious and organised criminals.

“Fraudsters can operate from anywhere and will target victims both domestically and globally. The NCA will continue to work with international and private sector partners to tackle fraudsters working upstream, overseas and online.”

Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said: “Fraudsters devastate lives – they steal people’s hard-earned savings and damage their confidence. Only by working across borders can we stop these criminals, as this government did by signing an anti-fraud agreement with Nigeria.

“These recent arrests in Nigeria prove the power of united action when industry, law enforcement, and government join forces. We will go further through our upcoming fraud strategy which will protect the public by going after offenders no matter where they are in the world.”

Spot a crypto investment fraud before any money is lost:

• Do not respond to unsolicited approaches about day trading or crypto investment companies on social media or dating platforms
• Refuse the offer to be a ‘member of an exclusive club’ from a finance ‘professor’ or ‘guru’
• Beware of continuous pressure to make additional investments, and of messages being sent outside of business hours.
• Be suspicious if you are instructed not to tell family or friends about your ‘new investment’

Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim should report this to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/