Police arrest two men for ‘hacking into over 1000 bank accounts’

The zone 2 command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which consists of Lagos and Ogun, says its operatives have arrested two men who allegedly specialise in hacking into bank customers’ accounts.

According to NAN, Hauwa Idris-Adamu, the command’s spokesperson, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Idris-Adamu said the force worked on a petition from United Bank for Africa (UBA) in May.

The spokesperson said the suspects were traced and arrested at Ijebu Ode, Ogun state.

“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 in internet fraud of various banks in Nigeria, most especially United Bank for Africa (UBA),” the statement reads.

“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.

“They confessed that they had many syndicates all over Nigeria and 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 money transfer.

“Consequently, over 1,000 customers’ accounts have been hacked, and the customers defrauded across the country,” she said.

Idris-Adamu said further investigation into the incident revealed that members of the syndicates were from different parts of the country.

She added that efforts were being intensified to arrest all those connected with the crime.