Police arrest Ibadan fraud syndicate for stealing N16.1m from POS

Operatives attached to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), have arrested three members of a fraud syndicate for stealing N16.1 million from Point Of Sale (POS).

The arrested suspects were identified as -Sanmi Ayodeji, Felix Oluwaseun, and Adeleye Oluwaseun, and were all busted by the Cybercrime Unit of the Nigeria Police established about a month ago.

Revealing how the suspects carried out the heist, the Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated that “they 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,” Adejobi added.

The Police spokesperson further revealed that upon their arrest, the suspects were found in possession of several mobile phones, POS machines, SIM cards, ATM Cards, and one Toyota Matrix car with registration no. KUJ 548 CN.

According to Adejobi, the suspects all confessed ti have bought the recovered items in their possessions with proceeds of the crime.

Reacting to the suspects’ arrest, Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) called on users of online banking platforms to be vigilant with regard to their personal information.

The police chief also enjoined all citizens and residents in the country, in ensuring maximum security, to report all suspicious cyber activities.