By Tope Musowo
Lagos
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a truck driver, Ebenezer Oyeneye, 50, who specializes in buying recharge cards from other people’s bank account.
The matter was said to have been reported at Aguda Divisional Headquarters in Surulere by a complainant, who wished to remain anonymous.
According to the complainant an unknown person had been recharging their call credit through “top up” from her bank account at one of the new generation commercial banks since July 2016.
The victim noted that the fraud began on July 4, 2016, after she received a debit alert from her bank that she had recharged a sum of N1,000 call credit for her phone line without initiating such transaction.
Investigation into the complaint subsequently led to the arrest of Oyeneye, who confessed that in July 2016, he tried to recharge his phone line with a short code and was credited N1,000 immediately without being charged.
According to him, “I tried it the following day and I issued a N3,000 balance which was also credited and so I continue day in, day out, for weeks and months.
“I became so overwhelmed by the value of my call credit balance and I immediately resorted to selling my loot to people around me for months before I was blocked off.
“The maximum I can recharge from the account is N3,000 per day because my network provider restricted me to a daily top up of the said amount. I then sell from the proceed and collect back physical cash from my customers.”
Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Olarinde Famous Cole, advised members of the public to seek professional advice from their financial institution before connecting their bank account to any online transaction.
