Two men, alleged to be involved in the hacking of bank customers’ accounts, have been arrested by the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police.
The arrest was officially confirmed by SP Hauwa Idris-Adamu, the Zonal Public Relations Officer, in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday.
In light of a petition received from a bank, Idris-Adamu stated that the arrest was initiated under the directive of Mr. Mohammed Ali, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) overseeing the Zone that includes Lagos and Ogun.
‘On the 8th of May 2023, a petition was submitted by United Bank for Africa (UBA) to the AIG that there are some syndicates that specialise on internet fraud of various banks in Nigeria, most especially United Bank for Africa (UBA).’
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‘They hack into customers accounts and move their money.’
‘Based on the petition, the AIG raised a team of detectives from the Zonal Monitoring Unit, which swung into action with the aid of modern technology.’
‘The two suspects were tracked down at their hideout at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State,’ she adddd.
According to the official, the suspects have openly admitted to their involvement in the crime.
‘They confessed that they had many syndicates all over Nigeria and that they used software to hack into customers’ accounts and move their money undetected from any bank.’
‘The modus operandi of these fraudsters is to have a customer’s BVN-linked phone number for easy transfer of money.’
‘Consequently, over 1,000 customers’ accounts have been hacked and the customers defrauded across the country,’ she said.
She provided details of the investigation, indicating that it had uncovered the geographical diversity of the syndicate members involved in the incident, with their origins spanning different parts of the country.
She stated that relentless efforts were underway to arrest all individuals associated with the crime.
She indicated that the investigation is currently ongoing, and after its completion, the suspects will be arraigned for their alleged involvement.