GoKawiilUK authorities charged five people following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into Russian Coms, a major caller ID spoofing platform used by criminals to make over 1.8 million scam calls.
The five people charged are 28-year-old Ayoub Sehailia, 30-year-old Zakkaria Sehailia, 30-year-old Usman Din, 29-year-old Denis Ozmus, and 53-year-old Fadila Salem, 53, all from London.
The list of charges includes conspiracy to supply articles for use in connection with fraud, transferring or converting criminal property, and, in Zakkaria Sehailia's case, failing to comply with a notice to provide phone passcodes. All five are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, August 14.
"The platform, established in 2020, started as a handset and then moved to a web-based application, with both products being marketed and sold. They allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers. These would often be of financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies with the aim of stealing funds and personal details from victims," the NCA said on Monday.
"Following an NCA investigation, five individuals have been charged in relation to supplying Russian Coms devices and apps and offences relating to money made from allegedly selling the devices."
Since 2020, when it first surfaced, the platform has been linked to tens of millions in financial losses affecting an estimated 170,000 victims.
As the NCA revealed in March 2024, when it took down the Russian Coms platform, hundreds of criminals paid for six-month contracts, priced at £1,200 to £1,400 in cryptocurrency, to use its "flagship" services.
Today, the NCA can reveal that they have shut down a platform used by hundreds of criminals to defraud victims across the world.
FULL STORY https://t.co/XMtmrnhi3Q pic.twitter.com/toStq5jpRC — National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) August 1, 2024
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