Sunday, August 15, 2021

Suspected hacker arrested after infiltrating bank system, scooping N1.87bn

Juliana Francis

 Mr. Salau Abdulmalik Femi, has been arrested for allegedly infiltrating the Flex-Cube Universal Banking System (FCUBS) of a First-Generation Bank and scooping as much as N1.87 billion.

 

According to the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, the suspect specialized in hacking into the server of banks and corporate agencies.

 

Femi, who displayed exemplary mastery of the cyber environment was arrested after he hacked the Flex-Cube Universal Banking System (FCUBS) of a certain bank.

 

The SFU spokesman, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Eyitayo Johnson, explained that the suspect, using application software, created fictitious credits totaling

N1, 868,900,000.00 on the accounts of three of the bank’s customers and successfully consummated debits- outflows-amounting to N417, 542,000.00 through Internet Banking transfers to other Banks.

 

Johnson further said: “The Unit, while acting swiftly on petition from the Bank; contacted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) whose customers were beneficiaries of the fraudulent funds and was able to salvage a substantial amount. Items recovered from the suspect includes; Apple Laptop and iPhone; while he and operators of BDCs used to launder the monies will be charged to Court as soon as investigation is concluded.”

 

Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Unit, (CP), Mr. Anderson A. Bankole, scheduled a meeting with Chief Compliance Officers/and Head of Technology/Information Security Department of Banks with a view to brainstorming on the loophole exploited by this suspect and how to counter similar hacks, for the benefit of both the Police and the Banking Sector.

 

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