ianstone
08-18-2010, 08:04 AM
Nine held over £1.3m iPhone fraud in police raid
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/std/siteimages/eveningstandard/columnists/mark.prigg.gif Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/columnistarchive/Mark%20Prigg,%20Science%20and%20Technology%20Edito r-columnist-1187-archive.do)
18.08.10
Police in London today smashed a multi-million-pound iPhone (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-12870-apple-iphone.do) fraud that cost O2 £1.3 million last month alone.
Officers discovered thousands of pounds of handsets and hundreds of Sim cards as nine people were seized in raids.
The fraud involved buying hundreds of iPhones worth up to £599 each.
The Sim cards registered to these accounts were removed and used to call premium rate numbers owned by the fraudsters, costing up to £10 a minute around the clock. The money owed on these accounts was settled immediately by O2.
However, when the firm tried to recover the call charges from its customers, it found they did not exist. “This was a sophisticated and organised attempt to defraud mobile phone operators on a very large scale,” said Adrian Goreham of O2.
The fraud is believed to have been running for five months. It affected all mobile operators, although O2 was the first firm to discover it and launch an investigation. Other networks are now believed to be undertaking similar investigations.
It is the first major criminal scam to target iPhones which were picked because of their high value on the secondhand market.
Police believe a gang of West African fraudsters bought the iPhones and contracts from high street stores using dodgy credit cards and false identities. The handsets were sold to a middleman and the Sim cards were then sold to a London and Essex (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-355-essex.do)-based crime gang responsible for the premium phone line swindle.
City of London detectives this morning raided homes in Forest Gate and Southall and also addresses in Southend, Walsall, Birmingham (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-119000-birmingham-england.do) and Middlesbrough (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-5337-middlesbrough.do).
They seized mobile phones, hundreds of Sim cards, computers, documentation, stolen bank cards, several fake passports and cash. At one home in Forest Gate, police found hundreds of Sim cards, £15,000-worth of iPhones still in their boxes, 20 bank cards and several fake passports.
Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart said: “Today we have struck at the very heart of a highly sophisticated criminal network that has been targeting the telecommunications industry to steal millions of pounds.
“Our investigation found a crime gathering momentum. Each month more Sim cards were being used to make more phone calls to premium rate lines at more expense to the network provider.”
The raids follow an investigation into a rapidly growing criminal conspiracy profiting from the theft and illegal use of almost 1,000 iPhones.
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/std/siteimages/eveningstandard/columnists/mark.prigg.gif Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/columnistarchive/Mark%20Prigg,%20Science%20and%20Technology%20Edito r-columnist-1187-archive.do)
18.08.10
Police in London today smashed a multi-million-pound iPhone (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-12870-apple-iphone.do) fraud that cost O2 £1.3 million last month alone.
Officers discovered thousands of pounds of handsets and hundreds of Sim cards as nine people were seized in raids.
The fraud involved buying hundreds of iPhones worth up to £599 each.
The Sim cards registered to these accounts were removed and used to call premium rate numbers owned by the fraudsters, costing up to £10 a minute around the clock. The money owed on these accounts was settled immediately by O2.
However, when the firm tried to recover the call charges from its customers, it found they did not exist. “This was a sophisticated and organised attempt to defraud mobile phone operators on a very large scale,” said Adrian Goreham of O2.
The fraud is believed to have been running for five months. It affected all mobile operators, although O2 was the first firm to discover it and launch an investigation. Other networks are now believed to be undertaking similar investigations.
It is the first major criminal scam to target iPhones which were picked because of their high value on the secondhand market.
Police believe a gang of West African fraudsters bought the iPhones and contracts from high street stores using dodgy credit cards and false identities. The handsets were sold to a middleman and the Sim cards were then sold to a London and Essex (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-355-essex.do)-based crime gang responsible for the premium phone line swindle.
City of London detectives this morning raided homes in Forest Gate and Southall and also addresses in Southend, Walsall, Birmingham (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-119000-birmingham-england.do) and Middlesbrough (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/related-5337-middlesbrough.do).
They seized mobile phones, hundreds of Sim cards, computers, documentation, stolen bank cards, several fake passports and cash. At one home in Forest Gate, police found hundreds of Sim cards, £15,000-worth of iPhones still in their boxes, 20 bank cards and several fake passports.
Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart said: “Today we have struck at the very heart of a highly sophisticated criminal network that has been targeting the telecommunications industry to steal millions of pounds.
“Our investigation found a crime gathering momentum. Each month more Sim cards were being used to make more phone calls to premium rate lines at more expense to the network provider.”
The raids follow an investigation into a rapidly growing criminal conspiracy profiting from the theft and illegal use of almost 1,000 iPhones.