Date:10/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/10/stories/2008041061340300.htm

New Delhi

Two Nigerians among three arrested

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Three persons, including two Nigerian nationals, have been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi police for allegedly running a racket of phishing and duping bank account holders of several lakhs of rupees.

According to the police, the accused -- Nurul Khan, Ibimina Joshua and Fellx Awatefe -- would send fake e-mails bearing the logo of the bank to the account holders in bulk informing them that there was some “systemic error” in their account. The gang would request the respondents to enter the link attached to the e-mail and provide their account details to help the bank fix the problem. These details, which included customer identity and password, were then abused by the accused to fraudulently transfer the money from the bank accounts of the victims to their own accounts, the police said. During investigation, the police found that the accused had allegedly hacked nearly two dozen such accounts and cheated people of Rs.33 lakh. The fraud came to light following a complaint by a HDFC Bank official.