Beware of German-based Human Trafficking Syndicate

Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, students, guardians and members of the unsuspecting public have been warned to beware of a German-based human trafficking syndicate that is operating under the guise of offering internship opportunities to lure the youth into a human trafficking net in Europe. In a circular, the National Universities Commission (NUC) today, drew the attention of Vice Chancellors to the existence of the syndicate which is based in Germany and specializes in luring unsuspecting students from third world countries to Germany and other European countries under the guise of offering them internship opportunities in industries and allied institutions. In a circular, which was signed by Mr. John Mairafi Ahmadu, a director in the Executive Secretary’s office at the NUC, the existence of the syndicate was busted by a careful investigation by Indonesian Police. It was stated in the circular that the discovery by the Indonesian police was shared with the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation (OSGF) which communicated the development to the NUC with the clear instruction that the development should be brought to the attention of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities for escalation to the Nigerian public.

Police bust bank account hacking syndicate, arrest 2

The Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police has cracked down a syndicate that specialises in hacking into bank customers’ accounts and arrested two suspects. The Zonal Public Relations Officer, SP Hauwa Idris-Adamu, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos. Idris-Adamu said that the arrest followed a petition received from a bank by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of the Zone comprising Lagos and Ogun, Mr Mohammed Ali. “On the 8th of May 2023, a petition was submitted by United Bank for Africa (UBA) to the AIG that there are some syndicates that specialise on internet fraud of various banks in Nigeria, most especially United Bank for Africa (UBA). “They hack into customers accounts and move their money. “Based on the petition, the AIG raised a team of detectives from the Zonal Monitoring Unit, which swung into action with the aid of modern technology. “The two suspects were tracked down at their hideout at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State,” she said. According to the official, the suspects confessed to the crime. “They confessed that they had many syndicates all over Nigeria and that they used software to hack into customers’ accounts and move their money undetected from any bank. “The modus operandi of these fraudsters is to have a customer’s BVN-linked phone number for easy transfer of money. “Consequently, over 1,000 customers’ accounts have been hacked and the customers defrauded across the country,” she said. She said that further investigation into the incident revealed that members of the syndicates were from different parts of the country. She said that efforts were being intensified to arrest all those connected with the crime. According to her, investigation is  ongoing while the suspects will be arraigned on completion of investigation.