‘We steal ATM cards at galleries, empty victims’ accounts’

Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris’s Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), has smashed a syndicate which specialised in stealing Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards at banks’ galleries across the country.

Members of the syndicate confessed that they used to steal unsuspecting victims’ ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) at banks’ galleries, while pretending to assist them solve problems encountered with the ATM.  

According to the suspects, they got the idea of stealing from bank customers using the unique method after reading about similar tricks in some national dailies.

The syndicate was trailed to its hideouts in Enugu, Benue and Nassarawa states, where the members were arrested. At least, over 70 ATM cards were recovered from them.

The suspects have been identified as David Wuese, 27, Chika Okenyi, Omotayo Bamidele and Akura Godwin.

They were arrested after Idris received complaints from members of the public about the nefarious activities of the gang. Idris was said to have immediately instructed his IRT operatives, led by a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Mr. Abba Kyari, to hunt and smash the syndicate.

Revealing the syndicate’s modus operandi, a police source said: “A member of the syndicate will approach the ATM user, who is having difficulty with the ATM. While attempting to help, he would swap the person’s ATM card with a different one, after getting the user’s ATM PIN.”

The police source continued: “The syndicate member would then take the stolen ATM card to the nearest ATM gallery, to check the account balance in the victim’s bank account. They would proceed to purchase expensive mobile phones, using the victim’s ATM card. But they would first make withdrawals reaching the limit of the account.”   

The leader of the syndicate, Wuese, said that the syndicate was formed in Markurdi, Benue State. He said that he had operated in several states in Nigeria. 

He further said: “I cannot tell for now who actually brought the idea. But before then, we had read about similar operations in the newspapers. We only modified our operation.  Some of the ATM cards found in our possession are invalid. Those invalid ATM cards are what we use in stealing from our victims. We don’t operate in one state. We move from one state to the other.”

Wuese said that if the money in the account was below N20, 000, they abandon the account, to look for another victim.

He added: “But if money in the account is huge, we would withdraw up to the ATM limit. After that, we move to any phone shops. We use the ATM to buy phones, after which we resell them at cheap prices. We also used to visit night clubs and hotels, where we pay with the stolen cards.”

He explained that in the operation before their arrest, they bought three Samsung Galaxy Edge phones for N245, 000 each and sold each for N215, 000. They also bought three Blackberry Passport phones for N130, 000 each and sold each for N90, 000. An Infinix phone, which goes for N82, 000, was sold for N60, 000.

Wuese said: “I can’t count the number of operations we have done. But we share money equally. I have bought a Toyota Camry with my own share of our loot. I don’t know what my friends did with their money.”