Some 238 UK students had their bank accounts raided after Nigerian Olajide Onikoyi tricked them into handing over their passwords.
A computer hacker who broke into the bank accounts of hundreds of UK students after tricking them with bogus emails has been jailed for nearly four years.
Olajide Onikoyi, 29, from Manchester, sent fake emails to potential victims inviting them to click on a link to update their student-loan details.
But the website was bogus and Onikoyi used the personal details he collected to access the accounts and remove hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Nigerian national helped launder £393,000 from 238 victims, including one student who had £19,000 taken from their account.
When police seized his computer, they found chat logs from cyber-crime forums that revealed he was conspiring with criminals in Russia, Lithuania and the UK.
A number of other people have also been jailed over the scam which police say involved a total of £1.5m stolen from unauthorised access to accounts.
At London’s Southwark Crown Court Onikoyi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to defraud and nine months for money laundering, to run consecutively.
Detective Chief Inspector Jason Tunn of the Met Police's Cyber Crime Unit said: "My officers worked doggedly to secure Onikoyi's conviction.
"They examined numerous leads to identify members of this phishing gang, of which Onikoyi was a key member.
"He played a significant role in the scam by systematically targeting British students and UK financial institutions in order to steal large amounts of money that were then dispersed across numerous bank accounts."
Posted: at 15-12-2013 08:22 AM (11 years ago) | Hero
Am proud of him as a black man. he is only takin back what the white men took from AFRICA durin COLONISATION and SLAVERY.
It has nothing to do with slavery but all about being bought up by corrupt leaders. Nigeria was not the only country where people were captured as slaves. And remember even your fellow Africans sold their own people to the slave traders.
I bet you not one pound of this money went towards "improving" Nigeria - but was used for his own comfort.
Stop supporting wrong doing. Lets make Nigeria great through hardwork and not corruprion.
Posted: at 15-12-2013 10:23 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
naijaforu at 15-12-2013 10:33 AM (11 years ago) (m)
i love it, i also advice other people to face uk,until they leave nigeria alone,welldone bro,three years is just like three days, dont accept there work offer when u are out from prison,
Posted: at 15-12-2013 10:33 AM (11 years ago) | Newbie
Na the only place wey yoruba people get sense be that.
There is not one tribe in Nigeria free from corruption. Generally people have given up on waiting for our government to come to our aid. We have nothing and everyday is a struggle.
Lets leave tribe out of it. Yes in this instant it is a Yoruba man (eventhough having a certain name is not sufficient evidence for place of origin) tomorrow it could be another Nigerian from another part of the country!
Posted: at 15-12-2013 10:35 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
Am proud of him as a black man. he is only takin back what the white men took from AFRICA durin COLONISATION and SLAVERY.
Thank goodness Nelson Mandela never met you - you would have convinced him to murder and plunder in retaliation for the wrong doings of the Boers!
Maybe if we like Nelson Mandela can forgive and forget God too will use us and turn us from being the rejected stone to becoming the cornerstone (president) of our nation state, Nigeria.
Posted: at 15-12-2013 11:12 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
TRENDING GISTS 
Wizkid and Ayra Starr Face Backlash Over “Gimme Dat” Lyrics Allegedly Insensitive to Amadou Diallo’s Legacy
EFCC To Investigate Alleged ₦528bn Misappropriation By Ex-Zamfara Governor, Matawalle
2025 U-20 AFCON: Check Out All 8 Teams That Qualified For Quarter-Finals