The Bauchi State Police Command have arrested a 44-year-old man, identified as Michael Joseph, who specialized in defrauding people at Automated Teller Machines, under the guise of helping them operate the machines.
The police Command’s spokesperson, SP Ahmed Wakil, in a statement on Tuesday, disclosed that the suspect was apprehended in Banks Road area of Bauchi metropolis in Bauchi State, after he attempted to defraud a lady at a Bank’s ATM Gallery.
PMNews reported that, while on the ATM queue, the suspect had insisted on knowing the type of ATM card the lady was using for the transaction which made her 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 had 31 ATM cards of different banks in his possession.
The statement read in part, “Joseph 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 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.”
