Two security guards, a bodaboda rider and their male accomplice will be arraigned Thursday for attempting to steal money from Barclays Bank’s ATM in Ruiru, Kiambu County.
The suspects –Hillary Ng’eno, 37, of KK Security, Jared Nyang’au, 31, of G4S Company, Douglas Momanyi, a 34-year-old bodaboda rider, and Jacob Barasa, 43, were ambushed by the detectives at the ATM on Tuesday.
Kiambu County Police Commander Mr Ali Nuno said the suspects had made several attempts at the ATM.
“The suspects had been given a code to use to withdraw all the money in the ATM but our officers intercepted them before they could do it,” said the police commander.
CYBERCRIMES
The police confiscated a mobile phone they were using to communicate to get the code, a sack they intended for loading the money, and the motorbike they were to flee on.
A similar attempt to steal from Family Bank’s ATM in Ruiru had also been made by other suspects on Sunday.
Cases of unsuspecting Kenyans losing their money to cybercriminals have been on the rise courtesy of a gang that has been able to infiltrate the country’s banking system and steal money from cash dispensing machines without the need for cards.
ARRESTS
Last month, 281 cybercriminals worldwide, among them Kenyans, were arrested after a four-month crackdown dubbed operation re-wired targeting online scammers.
According to the United States, the criminals were targeting individuals and companies that perform wire transfer payments to foreign business partners and suppliers.
The suspects were often targeting real estate buyers and the elderly by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals.
“This is often accomplished by impersonating a key employee or business partner after obtaining access to that person’s email account or sometimes done through romance and lottery scams,” the department stated in a press release.