10 Suspected Sim Swap Fraudsters Arrested by Police

Oyo State Police Command on Thursday announced the arrest of no fewer than 10 suspected members of a syndicate who specialize in withdrawing money from the bank accounts of depositors through fraudulent swapping of SIM cards.

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

“The suspects have confessed to the crime,” he said, adding that the police became aware of the incident on March 14th 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 celebrations.