Nigerians held in lottery, card data theft scam

The gang was operating with the help of sales agents of banks and waiters

Nigerian scams are no longer confined to the Internet as the fraudsters have begun duping people in person and are running their rackets right under the nose of the city cops. The fact came to light on Thursday when the DN Nagar police arrested nine people including two Nigerian nationals for cheating at least 50 people of lakhs of rupees. The Nigerians, Charles Ikona Oputta and Yomi Prince, are said to be the kingpins of the racket. Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, an officer from DN Nagar police station said the Nigerians would identify their targets with the help of Indian accomplices who worked as direct sales agents (DSAs) in private banks. The officers added that once the target had been identified, the gang would send them an email or an SMS informing him that they had won a lottery worth millions of dollars. Those who responded were approached by the Nigerians and asked to deposit some amount as taxes before the money could be released to them. The target was given a bank account number. But as soon as he deposited the sum, the gang would withdraw it and vanish. Initial investigation has revealed that the Nigerians would pocket about 90% of the fraud amount, while their Indian accomplices were given the rest of the share. Police officers said that at least 80 debit and credit cards, hundreds of bank passbooks of various banks, cheque books, driving licences, PAN cards and other documents have been recovered from them. "Further investigation is on in the case," said senior police inspector V Bhoite of DN Nagar police station. Police said the accused indulged in card data theft on a large scale by conniving with waiters at some of the posh restaurants. The waiters would copy credit and debit card data on a magnetic device hidden inside their pockets before swiping the card at the cash counter. This card data was handed over to the Nigerians who would make a fake card and then use it for withdrawing cash or shopping. The unsuspecting cardholders would know of it only when they got the card statement at the end of the month. The cops are now on the look out for the waiters and the restaurants where the crimes were committed.