Incredible! Bank workers hacked the data base of their bank , cloned customers’ ATM Cards to defraud 874million naira belonging to five corporate customers within three days. In the same vein, another bank staff was jailed 10years for stealing 540,000 naira. These are some of the indications of rising frauds in the banking industry. The big question is: what has gone amiss?
A big stir was caused by the revelation of the witness presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Peter Ige, an Information System Auditor with Fidelity Bank, in the ongoing trial of the quartet of Olusegun Babasola, Abisola Ahmed, Uchechukwu Uma and Jude Aphaeus, who are staff of the bank being prosecuted for an alleged N874m fraud before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
The defendants alongside one Omidiji Joseph are facing a two-count charge for their various roles in the hacking of the bank’s database and cloning of more than 22 ATM cards used to steal and divert to personal use about N874 million belonging to five corporate customers: American International Insurance Company Limited (AIICO); Interswitch; OVH Energy Marketing Ltd.; Fidelity Bank Sinking Fund Account and FSL Securities Ltd.
EFCC Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren confirmed in a statement said that the fraud was allegedly perpetrated within three days.
The suspects however pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, prompting their full-blown trial.
Ige narrated how his Department had been called upon to investigate the “massive fraud”.Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, the witness identified the four staff of the bank in the dock and gave details of the findings of the internal investigation carried out by his team.
He said: “On 15 July, 2019, as a System Auditor, my team was called upon to look at an instant of ATM fraud reported to the Internal Audit and to investigate same.”
He also told the Court that “We observed that the accounts were linked to a set of ATM cards, with their daily withdrawal limits increased from N150,000 to about N150million.”
He further told the Court that the permitted frequency of withdrawal was also increased, adding that “This was very abnormal; and so, it aided the commission of the fraud.”
In a related case, a magistrate court in Lagos island has jailed a former staff of Sterling Bank, Samuel Dare Arayode .The convict was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for stealing 540, 000 naira.
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