The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has busted an all-male trio point of sale (POS) network fraud syndicate in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The trio are identified as Sanmi Ayodeji (29), Felix Oluwaseun(24), and Adeleye Oluwaseun(32).
Police Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the arrest was amongst the numerous concluded cases by the cybercrime Centre.
He said the centre is an innovation of IGP Usman Alkali Baba to effectively tackle cybercrime offences.
The centre is under the purview of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo.
Adejobi said the arrest of the trio is a case of unlawful access to a computer network and manipulation a POS operator to defraud the unsuspecting owner of the total sum of Sixteen Million, One Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety-Five (N16,149,195.00).
He said;
“The suspects signed up on a POS platform known as Tmoni Technologies Company using their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and those of their friends and relatives without their consent.
“They proceeded to open valid wallet accounts with Tmoni, manipulated the company network security system, and fraudulently transferred funds to the tune of N16.1m from the Tmoni platform to various online accounts from where they made subsequent withdrawals.
“The suspects were eventually arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State, by operatives of the NPF National Cybercrime Centre, after an official complaint was lodged by the financial controller of the Tmoni platform.
“Upon their arrest, the suspects were found in possession of several mobile phones, POS machines, SIM cards, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cards, and one Toyota Matrix car with registration no. KUJ 548 CN which they confessed was bought with proceeds of the crime.
“The Inspector-General of Police while calling on users of online banking platforms to be vigilant with regard to their personal information, urges all citizens and residents in the country, as stakeholders in ensuring maximum security, to report all suspicious cyber activities via 09168343711, interpolnigeria@npf.gov.ng or on the NPF Cybercrime Reporting Portal – https://incb.npf.gov.ng/.
The IGP similarly commended the Director, NPF National Cybercrime Centre, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Uche Ifeanyi Henry, for his diligence and dedication which has led to the breakthroughs recorded so far.
The suspects will be charged to court as soon as possible.
