THE Commissioner of Police, Anti-Fraud Unit, Federal Criminal Investigation Intelligence Department (FCIID), Ikoyi, Lagos, Dan Okoro, has warned citizens to beware of the many cloned certificates and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards currently in circulation across the country.

Okoro said this while briefing journalists in Lagos on the discovery of some cloned certificates by a syndicate which specialises in printing fake documents of banks, government and corporate organisations.

He said the syndicate uses the fake documents to defraud banks, government, corporate organisations and individuals, adding that some bank officials aid and abet the crime.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the documents that are usually forged by the syndicate included CBN, presidential clearance certificates, IMF and court documents.

“I advise members of the public against cloned certificates, ATM card and other important documents currently in circulation. I want members of the public to keep their pin numbers, passwords and ATM safe.

“We have some documents recovered from one suspect arrested. We are investigating the documents and some bank staffers allegedly collaborating with the syndicate.

“It is only the bankers that have details of every deposit in the bank. Our investigation revealed that some bankers give information to the syndicate on how much customers have in every account.

“The syndicate cloned documents and transferred such money to another account, particularly, accounts with ATM cards are their easiest target.

“Many crimes are going on in different banks, unfortunately, the bank management will not allow the public to know about it because they want to keep their customers trust,” he said.

The commissioner said the arrested suspect was recuperating in an undisclosed hospital after he collapsed during a search of his house. Many incriminating items, including hard drugs, were found in his house.

“The suspect is a web site designer. He designed many of the cloned documents. We are on the trail of other members of the syndicate,” Okoro said. (NAN)