The Police Special Fraud Unit, PSFU, has smashed a syndicate which speclialises in designing multinational organisations’ websites to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, particularly applicants, and arrested six members.
Among the suspects are a first class honours graduate and two final year students of the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA.
The suspects’ modus oparadi, according to the unit, include using logos of multinational companies to place online advertisements for jobs and scholarships and demanding application fee from interested individuals.
Luck ran out for the suspects after the unit received a petition from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, last August, that a website designed as ‘OFID Scholarship Website’ (OPEC Fund for International Development for World Student Aid Scholarship) with OFID name and logo is being used to defraud unsuspecting Nigerian applicants.
How they were arrested
Explaining how they were arrested, spokesperson for the unit, Ngozi Isintume-Agu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said: “The petition dated August 22, 2013, said in the website, applicants were required to pay a fee of N2,500 and over 2,000 applicants responded through FirstBank account number 2020874607 and Access Bank account number 0056941009 with the name, OFID WSAS NG.
“The petitioner stated further that it was one of the victims that contacted OFID via facebook, accusing it of being an accomplice in the fraud.
“ The Cybercrime Section of the unit swung into action and the mastermind of the fraud, one Falade Oluwapelumi Ayotunde, was arrested.
“His arrest led to the arrest of five other syndicate members. Police investigation so far revealed that over 2,000 applicants paid N2,500 each into the two bank accounts provided by the suspects and the principal suspect is the only signatory to both accounts.
“Twenty-five- year-old Falade Olowapelumi Ayotunde, a 500-level Estate Management student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, in his confessional statement to operatives of the unit, admitted to have designed the website of OFID WSAS in June, 2012.
“He, however, claimed that the idea was sold to him by Fajobi Olalekan and Bolatiri Opemipo. He also admitted in his statement that he opened an account in both banks with the name OFID WSAS NG for applicants to pay in their application fee which many responded to.
“The suspect who hails from Akure, Ondo state, further stated that he and his cohorts printed a postal for OFIDWAS which was on the website.
I was paid N120,000 for the job
On his part, Asaolu Victor, 25, a graduate of Mining Engineering from FUTA, admitted to have assisted to paste the posters on-line.
According to Asaolu, who is from Ilesha, Osun State, he was tempted to assist because of unemployment. “Yes, I assisted to paste it on-line and at the end, I was given the sum of N80,000 and later they added N40,000, totalling N120,000 for the job.”
Another suspect, Awote Temitope Emmanuel, 27, said: “I am a 500 level Estate Management student of FUTA. I assisted Ayotunde (principal suspect ) to guarantee the accounts he opened for the OFID programme and I was paid N70,000.”
Asked if he was aware that the scholarship programme was fake, he nodded in affirmative.
I lent Ayotunde N12,000
Also on his part, 27-year-old Fajobi Olalekan, a first class Mechanical Engineering graduate of FUTA and the best graduating student in his department for 2012, told operatives that he only lent the alleged mastermind N12,000 to host the website.
According to him, “while in school, I lived in the same lodge with Ayotunde. He and his friends were always coming to me for educational assistance because of my intelligence. I once fell a victim of a scam scholarship known as EDIADS.
“Ayo approached me then and got some information regarding it which I believe gave him an idea on how to design his OFID Scholarship Website.
“I lent Ayotunde N12,000 which he used to host the website but he paid me N20,000 and informed me that the plan was successful.”
Professional advice
Adebomi Oluwatosin, who is also a graduate of FUTA, said he only offered the alleged mastermind professional advice and also lent him N100,000 at the initial stage which was paid back with an additional N100,000.
Investigation, according to the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the unit, Umar Idris, was on-going, informing that the suspects would be charged to court soon.
He however, advised members of the public to verify the authenticity of any on-line advert before parting with their money, even as he called on the victims to visit the PSFU at Milverton Road, Ikoyi , Lagos in furtherance of the investigation. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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First class ko!, First class ni! First class degrees these days are awarded to cats and rats especially by these glorified secondary schools called universities today. Degrees of any color for that matter is awarded based on character and learning. This tells you that most of these first class degrees is not worth more than the pieces papers. Intact, look at the so called first class graduates self.Is there anything about them that suggests serious intellectual and academic disposition? One need not be a psychologist or seer to decipher that there is nothing intellectual or academic about these ruffians. May be first class gotten through cult related activities. It is sad and the school has to be investigated. This is the height of bastardisation of academic degrees award and suggests that lots of people that don't have business with any color or type of degree may be carrying first class degrees after all.It is a shame!
ReplyDeleteImagine useless banks we have in nigeria, the went ahead and open an account without thorough ckek and confirmation, such bank need to be financially penalize to discourage this kind of occurence. For the young men, let tgem go the prison and eat half boild beans may be they will learn. Nigetian government is the problem of all this. In a working society, one alien even citizebs can open a bank account without your residence ID which is tied to ur passport number, finger print, photo ...etc all these information have a data base which are handled by the immigration and can not be falsified or faked, because any where your data is keyed, all information comes up...no private have autonomous direct access to these data but can quickly make reference for confirmation. Put religion away, this will mark begining of a successful country and crime will be minimal. After puttibg this in place, other security cheks xan be put in place also like survalance cameras, telephone sim card registration which are tied to this personal data with the immigration, also a landlird need all these info to from a potential tenant before given out an appartment, these information will also be registered at the government ministry of housing and town planning, same registration process goes with cars, for students and workers and business people and companies. with all these we can properly manage crime. But our people in government don't know anything, they are also mentally lazy.
ReplyDeleteYoruba boys nawao
ReplyDeleteWhat Yoruba boys are you saying? It's a Nigerian problems irrespective of tribal and religious background. Pls cut that your statement out. Mercy, Lagos.
DeleteMercy, the comment above was intended to elicit response from people like you and Ojoma. If such thing had happened in the East, low and behold, people would have been shouting Igbo and money. See how it feel when your tribe is mentioned.
Delete