How I defrauded POS operator of N1.5m — Suspect

Jonathan Sambo Bitrus, a 20-year-old resident of Bauchi State, has explained how he defrauded a Point of Sale (POS) operator of N1,550,000 at Terminus Market in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. Bitrus, who was paraded on Tuesday at the Plateau State Police Command, confessed that he accessed the victim’s transaction history […]

Jonathan Sambo Bitrus, a 20-year-old resident of Bauchi State, has explained how he defrauded a Point of Sale (POS) operator of N1,550,000 at Terminus Market in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Bitrus, who was paraded on Tuesday at the Plateau State Police Command, confessed that he accessed the victim’s transaction history when she handed him the POS terminal to enter his PIN. Upon discovering a previous successful transaction of N1,950,000 on the device, he requested that the same amount be withdrawn from his own account—which he knew was empty.

According to the suspect, he manipulated the device to display the previous successful receipt.

 “When she checked the last transaction, she saw the same amount, believed the withdrawal was successful, and gave me the funds,” he admitted.

Providing details of the incident, the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Alabo Alfred, said the victim, Miss Josephine Morolayo, reported that the suspect visited her shop at Terminus Market pretending to check his account balance.

“He later requested the sum of One Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N1,950,000) to be withdrawn from his account. She initiated the transaction and gave him the machine to punch in his PIN,” DSP Alfred said. 

He added, “She then proceeded to give him N1,550,000 and pleaded with him to wait for her boss to return from the mosque for the balance of N400,000.”

The fraud was only discovered when the shop owner returned. They realized the receipt shown by the suspect was actually from a transaction completed before his arrival. By that time, the culprit had already escaped with the cash.

“The suspect was arrested following the report. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and stated that he used the funds to purchase an iPhone 13 Pro and various clothing materials. He is currently in our custody and will soon be charged to court,” the spokesperson added.