A 50-year-old man from Ogun State, who specialized in defrauding bank customers through recharge call credit worth N400,000, has been arrested and quizzed by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad of Lagos State Police Command.
The suspect, Ebenezer Oyeneye, who is a self-acclaimed patron of a popular Pentecostal church in Otta and a truck driver, resides at 4, Moyinoluwa Avenue, Ijoko Lemode, Ogun State.
A woman who preferred anonymity reported to Aguda Divisional headquarters, Surulere that an unknown person had been recharging his phone through call credit from her bank account in a new generation commercial bank since July 2016.
The victim complained about the frequency of withdrawals and sum of money which the suspect had withdrawn from her bank account by purchasing a credit “top up” usually debited in her account.
The fraud, according to her, began on July 4, 2016, after she received a debit alert from her bank that she had recharged a N1,000 call credit for her phone line without her sending such command or initiating such transaction.
“I was amazed when my financial institution notified me of a debit on my bank account and the same thing continued for like 11 months.”
The woman filed the case with the operatives of the Aguda Divisional headquarters, Surulere, where it was transferred to RRS for in depth investigation, and eventually led to the arrest of the suspect.
Oyeneye explained that on July4, the owner of a truck he was driving prior retrieved it from him due to a misunderstanding and there was nothing to live on and maintain his family needs.
He said he found a means of livelihood after trying to recharge his phone line with a short code and was credited N1,000 immediately.
“I tried it the following day and I issued a N3,000 balance which was also credited and so I continued 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.
“The maximum I can recharge from the account is N3,000 per day because my network provider restrict me to a daily top up of the said amount. I then sell from the proceeds and collect back physical cash from my customer,” he narrated.
When told the amount he had recharged within 11months of his escapade, Ebenezer admitted he had recharged up to the said amount (N400,000) because he never gave too much break as he found it profitable using the illegal platform to enrich himself and be on top of his mobile phone call usage.
ASP Olarinde Famous Cole, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, advised members of the public to seek professional advice from their financial institutions before connecting their bank account to any online transaction and report immediately any case of strange activities on their bank account to the necessary authorities.
