UK Police Target Spoofing Site in Massive Fraud Crackdown

[discocrisco01]

Source: Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — More than 70,000 potential victims of banking scams across the U.K. will receive text messages from police on Thursday asking for their help in what authorities are calling their biggest ever anti-fraud operation.

British authorities have already arrested more than 100 people after taking down a website they described as an “international one-stop spoofing shop,” London’s Metropolitan Police Service said. Spoofing refers to fraudsters who disguise their phone numbers to make potential victims believe a call is coming from a trusted source such as their own bank.

Police are now contacting fraud victims who lost “tens of millions of pounds” to encourage them to report the crimes and help authorities prosecute thousands of suspected scammers who used the iSpoof website. One victim alone was conned out of 3.2 million pounds ($3.9 million), police said.

The campaign comes as authorities change their approach to combatting widespread electronic fraud, going after the individual scammers instead of simply shutting down websites like iSpoof that enable them, said Commissioner Mark Rowley, who heads London’s police service. Police in Britain are working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and authorities in Europe on the iSpoof investigation.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-11-24/uk-police-target-spoofing-site-in-massive-fraud-crackdown

[pirsquared]

1. Scammers get $4000/day

A friend's husband in Florida 74 yrs, lost $25,000 (!) to a scammer 4 months ago. The scammer convinced him to use TeamViewer (or similar) and got into his bank account, convinced him to give the routing number, and got the money. It was unrecoverable. Gone! poof, just lost forever.

His wife was busy and did not notice until he later admitted he "made a mistake." $25,000 from their retirement.

These scammers are vicious. I have teased them along and wasted their time for 6 years, but it is tiresome. I know all their scripts and tricks, so I can play them. "Verify me the last 4 digits of your social. Just the last 4."

Recently I got one of my personas, Antonnio, to die from covid. Calls keep coming in. One of the scammers engaged me and boasted: "Do you know how much money I make everyday? He claimed $4,000 per day, $30,000 per week. I don't doubt it ; this one call center in Mumbai brings in $25 million a year. All stolen/tricked from poor internet users.

There is another call center in New Delhi, and another in Khalsi Hills (with a different script).

Simply hanging up is very cheap for them; their telephone calls--even international--cost them mere pennies. What does cost them in frustrations is wasting their time, drawing out and playing them along. Usually for about 30 minutes, while they are not scamming someone else. I trapped one for 1 hr 44 min.

The best way to waste their time is: "My credit card is upstairs in the bedroom, Hold the line, and I'll get it." Put the phone down and refill your coffee until they hang up.

Just remember: "Can you--or your grandmother-- laugh off losing $25,000 to a scammer?"

[Aussie105]

2. "I am busy. Send me an email."

Then hang up.

Your bank or any institution that has your phone number will have your email address too. Scammers running an auto dialer will not.

Do not reply to any emails.

If an email looks legit, contact the institution from their website, not any phone number in an email.

Wife just goes into full on sailor-language swearing mode as soon as she hears an Indian accent.

Unfortunately, the attempted fraud will continue while it is profitable.

[Farmer-Rick]

3. You can scam someone from any place on the planet

But what police can hunt them down or hold them accountable from any place in the world?

We have universal criminals but not so much law enforcement.

If you live in the US and get Catfished or some other kind of scam and you report it to the local police, what kind of results do you think you're going to get? Nothing.

The local police are too busy upping their revenue by handing out traffic tickets, harassing poor people, protecting the filthy rich's property and beating up on minorities. Most law enforcement have a less than 50% homicide clearance rate. So, scammers proliferate while law enforcement shrug their shoulders.