FUTA 1st Class Graduate, Final Year Students, Others Nabbed For Internet Scam

 

A first class graduate and two final year students of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) are among suspects arrested for internet fraud by the The Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), in Lagos.

The  suspects are part of six members of a syndicate which defrauds people using specially designing multinational organisations' websites.

According to a Vanguard report, the syndicate uses logos of multinational companies to place online advertisements for jobs and scholarships.

They then demand application fee from unsuspecting applicants.

End Of The Road

According to spokesperson of the PSFU, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ngozi Isintume-Agu, a petition from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set the ball rolling for the investigation and eventual arrest of members of the syndicate.

"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 First Bank account number 2020874607 and Access Bank account number 0056941009 with the name, OFID WSAS NG."

"The Cybercrime Section of the unit swung into action and the mastermind of the fraud, one Falade Oluwapelumi Ayotunde, was arrested," Isintume-Agu said.

"His arrest led to the arrest of five other syndicate members.

Isintume-Agu revealed that at least N5,000,000 has been raked in by the fraudsters as "over 2,000 applicants paid N2,500 each into the two bank accounts provided by the suspects."

Gifted, But Crooked Brains

All those involved in the scam are either graduates or students at the advanced stages of their studies.

The alleged mastermind of the OFID scam, Ayotunde, sole signatory to both accounts used for the fraud, is a 500-level Estate Management student of the FUTA.

The PSFU said he admitted "in his confessional statement to operatives of the unit, admitted to have designed the website of OFID WSAS in June, 2012" but claimed that the idea for the scam came from tho other people, Fajobi Olalekan and Bolatiri Opemipo.

The other main suspect, 25-year-old Asaolu Victor, 25, a FUTA Mining Engineering  graduate, admitted to receiving N120,000 for placing the scam posters online.

"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," he was quoted as saying.

A third suspect, 27-year-old Awote Temitope Emmanuel, a 500 level Estate Management student of FUTA, said he "assisted Ayotunde to guarantee the accounts" even though he was aware that they were meant for a scam.

A 27-year-old Fajobi Olalekan, who holds a first class Mechanical Engineering degree from FUTO, said he only gave the principal suspect, Ayotunde, a loan.

"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," he said.

Another FUTA graduate involved in the scam, Adebomi Oluwatosin, said he gave professional advice and loaned the principal suspect N100,000 and got N200,000 in return.

The Commissioner of Police in-charge of the PSFU, Umar Idris, advised members of the public to verify the authenticity of online adverts before paying money.

He added that the suspects soon be charged to court and urged victims of the scam to visit the PSFU office at Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.