Cape Verdean Police Records ‘Unusual’ Increase In Cybercrime Via Social Media

On Wednesday, the Cape Verdean Judicial Police (PJ) expressed concern about the increase in an “unusual” number of complaints about cybercrimes in the country in the last three months.

The Judicial Police Inspector, José Brito, disclosed this during a press conference in Praia, citing increasing complaints of illegal access to social media accounts in the last three months.

According to Inforpress, Brito said that the complaints covered ordinary citizens and public figures, indicating that the population is poorly informed or that citizens are more daring in their activities.

Upon receiving the complaint, he said it had been forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for investigation. The Inspector did not specify the number of people affected.

I cannot provide exact data, but there may or may not be a suspect in each complaint,” he stated.

Brito, however, appealed to the public to contact a family member or the police when they come across a “good or too good” offer via social media while stressing that citizens must have “a critical spirit” when they receive a dubious proposal from a supposed public figure.

We have received collaboration from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp pages. They are great partners who, within their possibilities, have been collaborating with the PJ, and there are success stories. In general, what depends on us and them has been moving forward within the limits of cooperation”, he assured, adding that some cases are already in court.

Citing an example of cybercrimes committed through pretence on social media, Brito recounted the tenth attempt of creating fake Facebook profiles of the President, José Maria Neves, and the First Lady for fraud attempts.

In a bid to curtail the situation, the Judicial Police has issued a disclaimer on its official page, stating that “it is a criminal act that is causing most people to feel ‘insecure’ when using any social network, and warned internet users and society in general about this ‘criminal’ practice and the risks hidden behind the crime.”

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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