FOR Alhaji Auwalu R.A. Bashir, a Bureau-de-change operator at Sabo area of Ibadan, Oyo State, his attempt to swindle one of his long-time customers, identified as Chukwudi Ohanegbo, of the sum of N2m last Wedneday, has landed him in police net, after he raised a false alarm that armed robbers who invaded Sabo (where his business is located) the previous day, had broken into his office and had carted away the money he kept in his office drawer.

The said money was however recovered from one his partners-in-crime, identified as Kabir, the following day by the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). The operation was carried out by the officer-in-charge, Mr. Joseph Eguasa.

Explaining to Crime File how he led the SARS team to recover the money, Mr. Eguasa stated that Kabir had confessed during interrogation that it was the owner of the Bureau-de-change, Alhaji Auwalu, who actually instructed him (Kabir), to rush down to Mokola Police Station to make a false complaint that the armed robbers who operated in Sabo area the previous day, broke into his office, carting away the sum of N2m, belonging to one of his customers.

Speaking further, Mr. Eguasa said: “The police at Mokola station then sent a message to SARS at Dugbe, Ibadan. I promptly mobilised my men and invaded the area, but on getting to Sabo, we discovered that there was no robbery. Residents of the area and the Serikin Sabo told us they were not aware of any robbery in the area the previous day, not knowing that it was Alhaji Auwalu and Kabir who deliberately broke into their office at midnight and made away with the money from their safe. The money was for one of their customers who kept it with them the previous day. The customer wanted the money to be converted to foreign currency to enable him travel to China on a business trip”.

The police boss then said after leading the suspects to their office which they claimed armed robbers had burgled, they brought out two drawers, which they claimed they kept the money and “I discovered that they were lying as the two drawers were covered with cobwebs. They also did not look like safe. I smelt a rat and decided to investigate further.

“I thereafter ordered that the men should be moved to SARS for interrogation along with another partner, Garuba Sanni”. Eguasa also stated that it was during interrogation that the suspects confessed that they actually raised the false alarm so as to cover up their evil deeds, adding that the said money, which was promptly recovered from them, was kept with one Danlati, a blood brother of Alhaji Auwalu.

However, two hours after the suspects were brought to the police station for interrogation, the owner of the money, Mr. Ohanegbo, who was their customer, walked into the police station to report that the suspects had informed him that robbers had broken into their office and stolen the money he gave them to be converted into foreign currency.

While explaining to Crime File that it was the second time he would fall pray to the suspects’ antics, Mr. Ohanegbo recalled that in 2006, he gave the bureau-de-change operators N1.6m to be converted into hard currency, but they informed him the second day that armed robbers had broken into their office and had stolen his money.

Speaking with Crime File, Kabir confessed that he was instructed by Alhaji Auwalu to rush down to Mokola Police Station to raise false alarm that the money was stolen by armed robbers who broke into the area the previous day. The money was later handed over to the owner by the O/C SARS, Joseph Eguasa, who led the operations.

While describing the suspects as fraudulent persons, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Bisi Okuwobi said they would soon be charged to court.

In his comments, the state Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Raphael Obiazor, appealed to members of the public to be wary of the activities of some fraudulent Bureau-de-charge operators who swindle innocent citizens of their hard earned money in the state.

IRS Warns of Rebate Scams
Wednesday January 30, 4:10 pm ET
By Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer

IRS Warns of Rebate Scams to Steal Personal Information

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even before Congress passes an economic stimulus package, identity thieves are using promises of tax rebates to trick people into revealing financial and personal data, the Internal Revenue Service warned Wednesday.

Under one scheme, the IRS said, people are receiving phone calls telling them they can only receive a rebate if they provide bank account information for a direct deposit.

The tax agency stressed that it does not collect information by telephone and that no legislation has been enacted that would allow it to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that specifies the details of those payments.

The House last week, as part of an economic stimulus package, approved tax rebates of $600 and $1,200 respectively for most individuals and couples, with another $300 per child. The Senate is now considering a slightly different version.

The IRS also repeated past warnings of e-mails, supposedly coming from the agency, where people are asked to enter personal information on a form needed to obtain a tax refund.

A new scam, it said, involves an e-mail notification that a person's tax return will be audited with instructions to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information.

Businesses and accountants are also getting e-mails with instructions to download information on tax law changes. Clicking on these links could download "malware" onto the recipient's computer that gives the scammer remote access to the computer hard drive.

In another telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee who says the taxpayer has not cashed a refund check and asks the person to verify his or her bank account number.

On Tuesday, at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing for Douglas Shulman, the nominee to be IRS commissioner, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., expressed concern that taxpayers would be victimized by tax preparers and lenders who charge high interest rates for short-term advances on their stimulus rebates.

The IRS advised people not to click on any link from an e-mail purporting to come from the tax agency. People receiving questionable e-mails can contact the IRS through phishing@irs.gov.

An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing a much larger gain. Among the variations on this type of scam are the Nigerian Letter (419 fraud or Nigerian money offer and the Spanish Prisoner.

The 419 scam originated in the early 1980s as the oil-based economy of Nigeria declined. Several unemployed university students first used this scam as a means of manipulating business visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector before targeting businessmen in the west, and later the wider population. Scammers in the early-to-mid 1990s targeted companies, sending scam messages via letter, fax, or Telex. The spread of email and easy access to email-harvesting software made the cost of sending scam letters through the Internet inexpensive. In the 2000s, the 419 scam has spurred imitations from other locations in Africa and Eastern Europe.

The number "419" refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code (part of Chapter 38: "Obtaining Property by false pretences; Cheating") dealing with fraud.

The advance-fee fraud is similar to a much older scam known as the Spanish Prisoner scam. The fictitious prisoner would promise to share non-existent treasure with the person who would send them money to bribe their guards.

It is common to receive letters from any of these countries in West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Togo, Senegal and Burkina Faso or countries outside of West Africa: South Africa, Spain, and The Netherlands.