Emergency services operating internationally for criminals were lifted this week. More than a hundred people have been arrested in Britain, British media report. Arrests were also made in the Netherlands. According to NOS and NRC, this concerns two youths from Almere, aged 19 and 22.
Criminals can use software from the iSpoof fraud service to hide their own phone number and pose as an official entity, such as a bank. That way, fraudsters can extort people’s data and eventually their money. They often pay for services in bitcoins.
It is estimated that around 200,000 people have been scammed with the help of iSpoof. Tens of millions of euros have been stolen from people. Of the 10 million calls made using iSpoof, 40 percent were in the US and 35 percent in the UK. Other calls were made in several other European countries and Australia.
Scammers thought they could operate anonymously, but authorities managed to crack their way online at iSpoof, which had 59,000 users at its peak. The service has been off the air since December 2020 and more than half a year later, police in London have started an investigation. He received assistance from police services in the Netherlands, the US and Ukraine.
The iSpoof server runs on Almere. Thus, the police can intercept the service, allowing fraud calls to be heard. The main suspect is Teejai Fletcher, the alleged mastermind of iSpoof. According to police, he will have a lavish lifestyle and was arrested in London earlier this month.
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