Police Alert POS Operators That Transactions Over N500,000 Could Land You in Trouble

The Delta State Police Command has advised Point of Sale (POS) operators to exercise caution when processing transactions exceeding N500,000, according to Vanguard news. The command’s spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright, stated that in order to prevent any legal issues, any transactions over this sum should be completed directly at a bank.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>

In a statement made public through a video posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) page, Edafe advised  POSoperators to stay away from transactions involving large sums of money. He explained that criminals, especially kidnappers and fraudsters, often use POS agents to move large amounts of cash without raising suspicion. In such cases, the funds might be tied to illegal activities, such as ransom payments.

To emphasize his point, Edafe shared a story about a POS operator who unknowingly processed a ransom payment. The operator, who regularly conducted small transactions for a customer, suddenly received a transfer of N4 million. This money was traced back to a kidnapping incident. Although the operator only earned a small profit of N40,000 from the transaction, she was implicated in the crime.

Edafe explained, “Anybody who wants to do a transaction above N500,000 should go to the bank. Wherever you are as a POS operator, if you’re receiving too much money, that is unreasonably high. Understand that there is an element of crime involved because these transactions should be done at the bank.”

He warned POS operators not to be used as tools by criminals and stated that the police would trace the source of any large transactions, even if the operator was unaware of the illegal activity. He added, “You may argue that you’re doing business, but before your lawyer gets you out, you might spend some time cooling off in prison.”

The POS operator involved in the N4 million transaction admitted that she did not suspect anything unusual since the customer had previously conducted smaller transactions with her. However, this incident shows how POS agents can be easily exploited by criminals.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>