Five Individuals on Trial for Attempting to Transfer Money from ECOBANK Customers by Swapping SIM Cards

Nicholas Gyekye Apoctae, alias Paygez, the alleged gang leader and mastermind behind the deception, remains at large.

Five individuals between the ages of 22 and 30 are on trial for exchanging SIM cards and using them to access and transfer various amounts from the accounts of ECOBANK customers.

Frank Effah, age 25, is unemployed; Kwabena Agyapong, age 30, is a barber; Perlos Nyani alias Seth Baah, age 30, is unemployed; Ebenezer Yaw Annin, age 25, is also unemployed; and Aisha Ankoma Asumang, age 22, is a student.

Nicholas Gyekye Apoctae aka Paygez, who is believed to be the ringleader and mastermind behind the deception, remains at large.

The defendants are Afrancho-Krobo and Techiman-Takofiano residents.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and unauthorised transfer and interception before the court.

On Friday, a court in Accra, presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah, remanded the defendants to police custody pending the hearing of their defense.

Prosecutor Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah informed the trial court that Ecobank Ghana's management, represented by Peter Nyaba, Head of Internal Audit, reported the case.

According to him, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, Ecobank Ghana reported unauthorized transactions on the accounts of some of their consumers to the police.

According to Ecobank's internal investigations, victims of these unauthorized transactions had SIM cards that were linked to their bank accounts.

According to him, these SIM cards were swapped or replaced and issued to the fraudsters so that they could access the clients' bank accounts and transfer various sums of money.

The accused transferred customer funds to the mobile money accounts of pre-registered SIM cards, the court was told.

Indeed, one of these victims had revealed on social media how his MTN SIM card had been swapped and used to steal GHS4,000 from his Cedi account and $8,000 from his dollar account.

The perpetrators were located near Assin Fosu and Kumasi, as indicated by preliminary police intelligence.

Chief Inspector Anquandah added that based on intelligence received, the police proceeded to Kumasi and arrested all five suspects through sustained surveillance.

The prosecutor continued by stating that a search of the suspects uncovered account opening papers from Ecobank, 72 Vodafone and MTN SIM cards, and starter packs that appeared to have been pre-registered.

The court was informed that investigations to locate and apprehend suspect Nicholas Gyekye alias Paygez are still ongoing.

On this basis, the prosecutor urged Mr. Acquah to remand the defendants to police detention in order to further the investigation.

Telcos' personnel

In the meantime, it is an established fact that no fraudster can remotely transfer the SIM card of a telcos customer without the assistance of an insider, a member of the telcos' staff.

Every transaction performed by a telco, including SIM swaps, is accompanied by the credentials of the staff member who authorized the SIM exchange. However, MTN and Vodafone, the telcos mentioned in this affair, have yet to identify the employees involved.

Techfocus is of the opinion that until telco insiders are exposed, named, and humiliated, this type of fraud will continue because the perpetrators are aware that their reputation will be protected even if they are fired and imprisoned.