Nigerian couple, 22 year old
Aderoju Bammeke, (pictured
left) and his girlfriend 20 year
old Jessica Ogunyemi,
(pictured right) have been jailed
in the UK for being part of a
Nigerian gang that hacked into
the accounts of several people
and stole thousands of pounds
from them, Daily Mail UK
reports
"The couple were part of a
global internet banking scam
which could have netted a
phenomenal £19million after
hacking the accounts of nearly
2,500 people. Aderoju and
Jessica were the UK 'platform'
for a Nigerian 'phishing' scam
that made £41,000 in just two
months.
The plot, masterminded by a
gang in Nigeria, involved
sending fake emails to
customers of banks including
Barclays and Halifax. The
emails told recipients that their
accounts had been hacked and
asked them to complete a form
with their log-in details. But
when victims obliged,
Bammeke stepped in and
helped the gang log in to steal
money.
Fashion marketing student
Ogunyemi, his girlfriend at the
time, helped him launder the
proceeds by putting funds in
accounts, hiding cash and
allowing him to buy her a
£2,400 Vauxhall Corsa.
Bammeke has now been jailed
for three-and-a-half years at
Manchester Crown Court after
admitting conspiracy to commit
fraud and unauthorised
computer use.
Ogunyemi admitted five counts
of money laundering and was
given a suspended prison
sentence.
Michael Lavery, defending
Ogunyemi, said she had
brought shame on her family,
including her train driver father
and mother who works for
Manchester council.
He said she had been 'naive',
was predicted to get a first in
her degree and was no longer
in a relationship with
Bammeke.
Bammeke had pleaded guilty at
an earlier hearing to conspiracy
to commit fraud and
unauthorised computer use
while Ogunyemi admitted five
counts of money laundering.
Sentencing Bammeke, Judge
Recorder Gibson said: 'This in
my opinion was a sophisticated
fraud, a clever fraud and a
fraud which could very easily
have resulted in very much
more substantial money being
stolen.'
He jailed Ogunyemi for a year,
suspended for two years, and
ordered her to complete 180
hours' unpaid work.
After the hearing, Detective
Superintendent Janet Hudson
of TITAN, the North-West
Regional Crime Unit, said: 'The
actions of Bammeke and
Ogunyemi caused a great deal
of stress and uncertainty to
many affected bank customers
who had their accounts
accessed.
'As a result of the investigation,
no customers were left out of
pocket and the offenders were
arrested and ultimately
sentenced. Internet banking is
considered a safe and secure
method of banking.
'However, bank customers
need to remain vigilant and
aware of the danger posed by
fraudsters. Customers should
only ever navigate directly to
an online bank website and
should never click on any link
sent to them through an email.
'Additionally when accessing
bank accounts online
customers should always be
aware of the exact address in
order to ensure that they are
actually on a legitimate
banking website.'
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