Plateau Police Apprehend Fraudster Posing as POS User

The Plateau State Police Command has detained Jonathan Sambo Bitrus, a 20-year-old from Bauchi State, on allegations of defrauding a Point of Sale (POS) operator of ₦1,550,000 at the Terminus market.

The victim, identified as Miss Josephine Morolayo, reported that the suspect visited her shop, where she worked as a POS attendant, requesting to verify his account balance. Subsequently, he asked to withdraw ₦1,950,000 from his account, prompting her to start the transaction and hand over the machine for him to enter his PIN. After this, she provided him with ₦1,550,000 in cash, asking him to wait for her boss to return from the mosque to complete the balance of ₦400,000.

Upon her boss's arrival, she learned that the receipt in her possession was for a previous transaction made before the suspect's visit. It then became apparent that she had been scammed, by which time the fraudster had already fled with the money.

During interrogation by the police, the suspect admitted that he had taken advantage of the victim’s moment of trust by accessing her transaction history when he was given the POS machine to enter his PIN. He noticed a prior transaction amounting to ₦1,950,000 and requested the same amount for withdrawal, unaware that his account was devoid of funds. He admitted to canceling the transaction during the process.

SP Alfred Alabo, the command's spokesperson, confirmed to reporters that the suspect was apprehended following the complaint. He revealed that the suspect confessed to the crime during questioning and disclosed that he had spent the stolen money on purchasing an iPhone 13 Pro and clothing items. The suspect is currently in police custody and is expected to face charges in court shortly.