Hi all, I expect you are already aware of todays events, but just in case you have been busy take a look
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/po ... 35306.html
Police staged dawn raids on homes across London today against a gang that has allegedly defrauded hundreds of people out of more than £1 million through fake online car adverts.
Officers described a house in Greenwich as an “ID factory” for creating fake documents to open bank accounts and police found seven mobile phones, two laptops and memory sticks on a dining-room table.
A top-of-the-range BMW parked outside was seized as an alleged proceed of crime and around £30,000 in cash was found in a nearby property.
A 30-year-old man was arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering offences. A woman, 63, was arrested by UK Border Agency staff on suspicion of being in possession of fraudulent immigration documents.
The gang is alleged to have offered cheap cars for sale on motoring and auction websites to lure unsuspecting buyers before disappearing with their money.
The suspected scam is believed to have attracted hundreds of “average Londoners” browsing for vehicles priced between £5,000 and £8,000.
If a would-be buyer expresses an interest in a car, they are sent an email purporting to be from the website offering to hold payment for the vehicle in safekeeping until after a test-drive, saving the buyer the risk of having to pay in cash.
However, the transfers were made directly into the fraudsters’ bank accounts and police said that within 24 hours of the money being transferred it was withdrawn from cash machines or transferred out of Britain.
Police said that “mules” were paid to con bank branch staff by opening accounts using fake documents.
Operation Subidor was carried out by City of London, Met and British Transport Police officers working as part of the new London Regional Fraud Team. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe, head of the team, said “organised crime gangs” were “increasingly targeting people who are prepared to make large purchases online”.
He added: “I would expect internet-related investigations and arrests to be a major focus for us over the coming months, with many more early morning visits to the homes of key suspects.
“I want people to be extremely cautious online and check what sort of payment or banking facility they enter into as you don’t know who you are dealing with until you have met them in person.”
http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news- ... ondon.aspx
Capital-focused fraud team makes first arrest in east London
The new London Regional Fraud Team made their first arrest early this morning (Apr 3), acting on reports of people being conned out of thousands of pounds as they search for a new car on the internet.
The unit, containing officers from City of London, Metropolitan and British Transport Police, were in east London executing warrants at four addresses linked to what is believed to be a Romanian organised crime gang running a lucrative online vehicle fraud.
One man in his 30s was arrested at a house in Charlton on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, with £30,000 in cash seized from another property in the area.
He is suspected of being at the heart of an operation that has been posting fictitious adverts offering cars for sale cars, often at below the market rate, on websites such as Autotrader and Gumtree.
Buyers who express an interest have been receiving emails, supposedly from eBay, offering to hold payment for the vehicle in an escrow account until it has been viewed and a price agreed.
In theory this would allow the buyer to release the funds securely rather than having to carry around thousands of pounds in cash.
In reality victims are finding the advert to be bogus and the money they transferred to have been quickly withdrawn, often out of cash machines, from bank accounts set-up with false details.
The London Regional Fraud Team is based at the City of London Police and is a part of the London Regional Organised Crime Unit, established by the Home Office. It has been set-up specifically to tackle organised crime gangs committing fraud that affects and harms the region in and around the Capital.
Head of the new unit, DCI Andy Fyfe, said:
“The fact that the unit consists of detectives from the three police forces serving the London region is evidence of the wider commitment from law enforcement to really clamp down on economic crime.
“And with organised crime gangs increasingly targeting people who are prepared to make large purchases online I would expect internet-related investigations and arrests to be a major focus for us over the coming months, with many more early morning visits to the homes of key suspects.”
The operation, which also saw the UK Border Agency arrest a 63 year-old woman on suspicion of being in possession of false immigration documents, comes a week after Get Safe Online and the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the danger of online vehicle fraud.
Last year 6,600 people reported falling victim to the crime across the UK, with the true figure likely to be higher. For more information about online vehicle fraud go to - http://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting ... -vehicles/
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/po ... 35306.html
Police staged dawn raids on homes across London today against a gang that has allegedly defrauded hundreds of people out of more than £1 million through fake online car adverts.
Officers described a house in Greenwich as an “ID factory” for creating fake documents to open bank accounts and police found seven mobile phones, two laptops and memory sticks on a dining-room table.
A top-of-the-range BMW parked outside was seized as an alleged proceed of crime and around £30,000 in cash was found in a nearby property.
A 30-year-old man was arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering offences. A woman, 63, was arrested by UK Border Agency staff on suspicion of being in possession of fraudulent immigration documents.
The gang is alleged to have offered cheap cars for sale on motoring and auction websites to lure unsuspecting buyers before disappearing with their money.
The suspected scam is believed to have attracted hundreds of “average Londoners” browsing for vehicles priced between £5,000 and £8,000.
If a would-be buyer expresses an interest in a car, they are sent an email purporting to be from the website offering to hold payment for the vehicle in safekeeping until after a test-drive, saving the buyer the risk of having to pay in cash.
However, the transfers were made directly into the fraudsters’ bank accounts and police said that within 24 hours of the money being transferred it was withdrawn from cash machines or transferred out of Britain.
Police said that “mules” were paid to con bank branch staff by opening accounts using fake documents.
Operation Subidor was carried out by City of London, Met and British Transport Police officers working as part of the new London Regional Fraud Team. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe, head of the team, said “organised crime gangs” were “increasingly targeting people who are prepared to make large purchases online”.
He added: “I would expect internet-related investigations and arrests to be a major focus for us over the coming months, with many more early morning visits to the homes of key suspects.
“I want people to be extremely cautious online and check what sort of payment or banking facility they enter into as you don’t know who you are dealing with until you have met them in person.”
http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news- ... ondon.aspx
Capital-focused fraud team makes first arrest in east London
The new London Regional Fraud Team made their first arrest early this morning (Apr 3), acting on reports of people being conned out of thousands of pounds as they search for a new car on the internet.
The unit, containing officers from City of London, Metropolitan and British Transport Police, were in east London executing warrants at four addresses linked to what is believed to be a Romanian organised crime gang running a lucrative online vehicle fraud.
One man in his 30s was arrested at a house in Charlton on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, with £30,000 in cash seized from another property in the area.
He is suspected of being at the heart of an operation that has been posting fictitious adverts offering cars for sale cars, often at below the market rate, on websites such as Autotrader and Gumtree.
Buyers who express an interest have been receiving emails, supposedly from eBay, offering to hold payment for the vehicle in an escrow account until it has been viewed and a price agreed.
In theory this would allow the buyer to release the funds securely rather than having to carry around thousands of pounds in cash.
In reality victims are finding the advert to be bogus and the money they transferred to have been quickly withdrawn, often out of cash machines, from bank accounts set-up with false details.
The London Regional Fraud Team is based at the City of London Police and is a part of the London Regional Organised Crime Unit, established by the Home Office. It has been set-up specifically to tackle organised crime gangs committing fraud that affects and harms the region in and around the Capital.
Head of the new unit, DCI Andy Fyfe, said:
“The fact that the unit consists of detectives from the three police forces serving the London region is evidence of the wider commitment from law enforcement to really clamp down on economic crime.
“And with organised crime gangs increasingly targeting people who are prepared to make large purchases online I would expect internet-related investigations and arrests to be a major focus for us over the coming months, with many more early morning visits to the homes of key suspects.”
The operation, which also saw the UK Border Agency arrest a 63 year-old woman on suspicion of being in possession of false immigration documents, comes a week after Get Safe Online and the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the danger of online vehicle fraud.
Last year 6,600 people reported falling victim to the crime across the UK, with the true figure likely to be higher. For more information about online vehicle fraud go to - http://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting ... -vehicles/
