Police parade 10 suspected fraudsters linked to SIM card swap in Oyo

The Oyo State Police Command on Thursday paraded 10 suspected members of a syndicate who specialise in withdrawing money from the bank accounts of depositors through fraudulent swapping of SIM cards.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Shina Olukolu, who paraded the suspects in Ibadan, told newsmen that the suspects operate by calling their victims’ cellphone numbers and requesting information.

“The phone of the victim will switch off immediately such person follow their directives.

“By the time the person’s phone is switched on, such a person will start receiving debit alert from his or her bank account until the account is empty.

“The suspects have confessed to the crime,” Olukolu said.

He said the police became aware of the incident on March 14 when one Adeniyi Ige, a security manager at Airtel Network Ltd, reported that his company received complaints from customers regarding withdrawal of various amounts of money from their accounts through fraudulent SIM swapping.

Olukolu said that internal investigation conducted by Airtel through their Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage traced the fraudulent SIM swapping to ISON BPO, a call centre to network service providers, including Airtel Network in Ibadan.

He said that investigation led to the arrest of three ISON staff directly involved in the fraudulent act and seven others.

Olukolu warned Nigerians who use technology to defraud unsuspecting members of the public to channel it in doing something useful for society.

He also said the command under his watch would ensure that the state was safe before, during and after the Easter celebration,adding that  people should carry out their lawful business without hindrance.

Six other suspects were also paraded for armed robbery and cultism.

The items recovered from the suspects include 26 different cell phones, two guns and live cartridges.