6th December, 2022
A 44-year-old man who specialized in defrauding people trying to withdraw money from ATM machines under the guise of helping them to operate the machines, Michael Joseph has been arrested in Banks Road area of Bauchi metropolis in Bauchi State.
Joseph suspect was found with 31 ATM cards of different banks after he was arrested, Bauchi Police Command, SP Ahmed Wakil said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added that the suspect was arrested when he attempted to defraud a lady at a Bank’s ATM Gallery in Bauchi.
While in the ATM queue, the suspect had insisted on knowing the type of ATM card the lady was using for the transaction which made the lady suspicious and immediately reported the suspect to the Bank’s Security Men.
Following this development, the suspect was arrested and a search conducted on him revealed he has 31 ATM cards of different banks in his possesion.
Police said on interrogation, the suspect revealed that he hails from Benue State, and came to Plateau State looking for job but ended up as a bus driver for 3 years.
‘’The suspected explained that he was introduced to the fraud activity by one Magaji ‘m’ of Kano State when they met at a Beer Parlor in Jos, Plateau State.
Joseph, according to the police statement, gathered ATM cards from different banks and usually go to ATM points to look for persons who cannot operate the machine.
He will get the ATM card pin of his victim after such assistance and quickly swaps the victim’s ATM card with old an ATM card from the same bank in his possession.
Police said investigation revealed that the suspect successfully defrauded his first victim of N18, 000.
He also defrauded another victim of N25, 000 at a Micro Finance Bank.
He carried out the two frauds in Plateau State before he decided to move to Bauchi State in a bit to further his fraudulent activities.
“But met his waterloo when he attempted to defraud the lady at a Bank’s ATM Gallery situated at Banks Road, Bauchi.
“The investigation is in progress after which the suspect will be charged in court,” the statement concluded.