by S’ola Filani

 

 

 

Suspected internet fraudsters have reportedly hacked into Ogun State-owned mortgage bank, Gateway Savings and Loans Limited, stealing millions of Naira.

Reports say men of the Ogun State Police Command are currently investigating the multi-million Naira fraud.

The said fraud prompted a team of armed mobile policemen to visit the branch of Skye Bank Plc, located in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, on Friday.

The security operatives, accompanied by the Senior Special Adviser on Security to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, reportedly arrived the bank premises about 4:30pm with an armoured personnel carrier and several patrol vans threatening to whisk the bank manager and some staff away.

An official of the bank, told journalists, “The management of Gateway Savings and Loans came to our bank to lodge a complaint of perpetual fraud and debit of about N30 million in their Internet account of our bank. Since it was an Internet transaction, we told them to give us time to call on our technologists to investigate the issue.

“Within an hour at around 4:30pm, the SSA to Governor Amosun on Security came to the bank with about eight police vehicles and one armoured tank, chasing away all customers within the bank premises, saying they are acting on the orders of the governor to arrest the manager if the money is not provided.

“We told them they can’t arrest anybody from the bank since there was no personal contact with anybody from the bank before the transaction was made and it was only the management of Gateway Savings and Loans that knew the password of the Internet account. We told them someone within their organisation who was privy to the password must have hacked their account.”

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Yusuph Olaniyonu, confirmed the incident.

Olaniyonu explained that an internet fraud was uncovered in the account of Gateway Savings and Loans Limited domiciled in Skye Bank and that the matter had been reported to the police.

“It was not a case of invasion of the bank by policemen. What happened was that there was an internet fraud. About N14.3 million was said to be involved. The incident was discovered on Monday but the management and other officials of Gateway Savings and Loan didn’t report the matter until Wednesday,” he explained.