SIM Card Fraudsters Prosecuted: EOCO Secures Conviction of 4 Criminals

• EOCO has disclosed that some four mobile banking app and SIM card fraudsters arrested last month have been sentenced to 12 months in prison
• Linda Abakah and Solomon Ofosu were sentenced on April 6, charged with conspiracy to steal, stealing and money laundering and convicted of same
• EOCO disclosed that before they were arrested by law enforcement agencies, the syndicate was able to illegally withdraw GH¢257,472.22 from 11 customers

Four SIM card fraudsters arrested by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) some months ago have been sentenced by an Accra High Court.

The criminal syndicate, which includes a lady, were based in Assin Fosu in the Central Region and was involved in mobile banking application fraud and SIM swap fraud.

They were arrested by EOCO in collaboration with the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and the Ghana Police Service at least six months ago.

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Two members of the SIM card fraud syndicate sentenced to 12 months in prison

EOCO explained in a post on Facebook that two of the accused persons charged were charged and convicted with conspiracy to steal, stealing and money laundering.

Linda Abakah and Solomon Ofosu got a lenient sentence from presiding judge Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe because they have been in custody for a significant period of six months and the fact that the bulk of the benefit or proceeds of the crime has not been accrued to them.

Meanwhile, the two other accused persons, Derick Obeng aka "Chilling" and Ezekiel Otoo have absconded.

They were at large at the time of sentencing, but have been charged with the same offences as the other two convicted persons.

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They were convicted on April 6, 2023.

How the SIM fraud syndicate operates

Before they were arrested by law enforcement agencies, the syndicate was able to illegally withdraw GH¢257,472.22 from 11 customers.

According to EOCO, the syndicate operates using SIM swap and mobile banking application fraud schemes.

"The mobile application fraud is an online scamming method in which monies are stolen through social engineering by luring customers of banks to divulge their phone numbers, passwords, pin codes, and One Time Password (OTP)," EOCO explained.

EOCO said after having access to these information, the criminals take over the customer’s bank account, mobile and electronic cash.

They then withdraw the remaining balance from the customers’ accounts at Agency Points.

"This is mostly achieved with the support of agents from the banks and staff of telecommunication companies to swap SIM," EOCO explained.

The fraudsters have been able to swap customers’ mobile numbers without their knowledge and allowed them to gain access to their mobile banking applications to steal funds.

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FBI and EOCO retrieve "stolen cars" from US and Canada in Ghana

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that EOCO disclosed that an operation on December 9, 2022, that resulted in the seizure of some vehicles at some garages in Accra was done in collaboration with the FBI.

EOCO explained in a statement that all 37 vehicles removed from the garages were suspected to have been stolen from US and Canada and brought to Ghana.

Earlier car importers had been complaining about unexplained raids at their garages that had resulted in the seizure of 300 vehicles.

Source: YEN.com.gh