The Saloum Research Brigade has put an end to the activities of a network of fraudsters specializing in the identity theft of Sonatel employees. Three individuals were arrested and brought before the Kaolack prosecutor's office. They had defrauded their victims of more than 9 million CFA francs.

The first victim, Ms. TF Ndoye, who lives in Dakar, was at her office when someone called her home landline. Her daughter, MK Fall, picked up the phone. The caller introduced himself as a Sonatel agent and threatened to disconnect the phone line while asking for her mother's cell phone number.

The individual then contacted Ms. Ndoye at her office, allowing the girl to hear her mother's voice. Through psychological subterfuge, he made the girl believe that her mother was in a difficult situation and risked arrest if she did not send money to help her.

According to a source close to the case contacted by Seneweb, "the daughter searched her mother's wardrobe drawer where she discovered an envelope containing 400,000 CFA francs and a box containing gold and silver jewelry worth 8 million CFA francs." The alleged Sonatel agent asked her to hand everything over to a man on a Jakarta-type motorcycle.

This is how Mrs. Ndoye was robbed of 8,400,000 CFA francs.

The investigation takes shape

Informed of the facts, Ms. Ndoye rushed home and contacted Sonatel, which advised her to file a complaint with the Kaolack investigation unit, as the owner of the incriminated number had been located in Karang. Sonatel management also filed a complaint against unknown parties, as did Ms. Ndoye.

Warrant Officer Modou Ndiaye, commander of the BR, immediately mobilized his men to dismantle the network. And on the night of August 18, A. Bitèye, alias "Aliou Ndaba," was arrested in the Thioffack neighborhood, returning from Magal, where he had stopped at his marabout's house.

When questioned, Aliou Ndaba denounced his accomplice CI Niang. The latter was arrested around 6 a.m. at his home in the village of Santh-Thiamène, in the commune of Taïba Niassène, in the department of Nioro. The gendarmes seized five simple telephones and 21 telephone chips from his home.

A search of his phones revealed that he had claimed another victim, IM Mendez, a woman living in Dakar, for a loss of 750,000 CFA francs. This sum had been sent by Orange Money.

The fraudster called the woman's landline, claiming to be a Sonatel agent, and threatened to suspend the line for non-payment of the bill. He ordered the cleaning lady to send 750,000 CFA francs found there, allegedly on the instructions of his employer.

The exploitation of Niang's Wave account revealed the involvement of C. Agne, a resident of Thioffack who managed a money transfer point. She made Orange Money withdrawals for him, after each package, in exchange for a commission. When questioned, she admitted the facts, while declaring that she did not know where the money came from.

The two fraudsters and their accomplice, C. Agne, were brought before the Kaolack High Court yesterday, Monday. They are being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy, online fraud via Orange Money, impersonation, and complicity.

This case illustrates the growing sophistication of fraud methods and the importance of being vigilant about suspicious calls, even when they appear to come from official organizations.