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00:00Thank you for calling Visa Security Department.
00:03I am from the National Crime Agency.
00:05If you talk to me, then I will guide you.
00:08Every day, we're being bombarded by scammers.
00:11I've got no money in my bank.
00:13How much I have to pay?
00:16But we are fighting back.
00:18Working with ethical hacker Jim Browning, who hacks into scam call centres,
00:23we can tap into this criminal network and track down the victims to stop the scammers
00:29before they steal.
00:31You should not buy those gift cards.
00:32You're going to lose your money.
00:33What was that?
00:34What was that?
00:35I can assure you that nothing they're saying is true.
00:37You're on the phone to a scammer, Malloch.
00:39You need to hang up the phone.
00:43This is Scam Interceptors.
00:51On today's episode...
00:53Can you please verify me the security score, please?
00:56Yeah.
00:57Here we go. She's about to get access to her account.
00:59Right, let's do it.
01:02We're on the trail of the network of suspected mule addresses supporting the scammers.
01:08I don't know about nothing. What's all that?
01:13Do you use the MyAuto online application?
01:16Yes.
01:18In the Glasgow hub, there's a scam in progress.
01:22Right, so what I'm going to do, we have to update your MyAuto app as well. Can you please confirm it to you? Do you have the access of your email address right now?
01:31Yes.
01:32Okay, just stay with me on the line.
01:34Okay.
01:35This person, we don't yet know who she is or where she lives, believes she's speaking to her mobile phone provider, O2.
01:45In reality, she's on the line with a scammer.
01:49We're listening in right now to a call which is being made out of Lahore in Pakistan by a company called Rapidite Solutions.
01:58Our phone operator impersonation scam. They're ringing up their customers and they're trying to persuade them that they can either have discounts on their bills or get a new device very cheaply on an upgrade or that they need a new SIM card because they've got to upgrade to 5G.
02:14We have to update your account right now that tomorrow once you receive the SIM card, you can use your O2 account.
02:23Ethical hacker Jim Browning has managed to crack into this call center's CCTV, meaning we can not only hear the scammers, but we can now also see them.
02:36Giving us an unprecedented look at the scale of Lahore-based Rapidite Solutions operation, not to be confused with other legitimate companies of the same name.
02:48So I just shared you one email on your email inbox. Can you please have a look right now?
02:53You can, you touch your password.
02:55Yes, you have to click on it, please.
02:58And it's the false promise of a new 5G-ready SIM card that has helped this scammer snag his target.
03:06Now, the reason that they need to persuade them of these things is so that they can get something delivered out to them.
03:13And the way that they tend to do that is by persuading these people that they need to share a one-time passcode with them for their account.
03:19Once they get that one-time passcode, which you should never share, by the way, they can sign into their account at their end, the scammers, they can sign into the customer's online account.
03:29And that means basically they can order things in their name without them knowing.
03:34So ma'am, now I'm approving the SIM card for you, a 5G SIM card, which you are going to receive tomorrow, right?
03:39So tomorrow you will be available, ma'am, to receive the SIM card?
03:43Yes.
03:44OK. Can you please have a look on your text message inbox? I just shared your one 6-digit verification code.
03:50To approve the SIM card for yourself, can you please verify me the 6-digit code, please?
03:54Yes.
03:56Here we go. She's about to get access to her account.
03:58649.
04:00By handing over the 6-digit code, the woman has inadvertently given the scammer access to her mobile phone account.
04:07That means they can order anything they want while she foots the bill.
04:14So they can put through an order, for example, for a very expensive phone, get it delivered out to the person's house.
04:20And when it arrives at the person's house, these guys are tracking it.
04:24They call them up and they say, I'm so sorry, that was sent in error.
04:27Would you mind sending it back to the warehouse? Here's a postage label.
04:29They send them a postage label. Of course, if the target does indeed send that phone out to the warehouse, they're actually sending it to a mule address controlled by these guys where it gets forwarded back to Lahore in Pakistan and sold in a shop.
04:43So it's basically just a way to get free phones that are worth a lot of money and make a very profitable business out of it.
04:48We so far only have a mobile number for the person on the other end of the call, which they are speaking to the scammer on.
04:57But the team may have another lead.
05:00I've got a hit on the number. It's linked to a business in Ilford.
05:03Okay.
05:04So we're just trying to decrypt more information.
05:06The team has connected the mobile number to a social media page for a beauty business.
05:11And searching the business name has led to the discovery of further vital information.
05:18Someone's name.
05:20Miss Ojo.
05:22This could help our mobile team of ground interceptors who can knock on the target's door to raise the alarm.
05:29The good news is the GIs are about 17 minutes away from Ilford.
05:32Excellent. So we may as well get them on the road.
05:33Okay, let's do it.
05:35We need to reach Miss Ojo before the scammers do any more damage.
05:40I have a postcode as well.
05:42Can you send that to me?
05:43Yeah.
05:45It looks like a home address, guys.
05:46Yeah, I think it might be a home beauty business.
05:51The team listen out for a house number.
05:55So many congratulations. The SIM card has been approved for yourself.
05:58So please stay at home and receive your SIM card.
06:01And we will give you the one-hour time slot as well.
06:05And the parcel will be delivered on the flat number...
06:08We just missed that.
06:11The scammer just repeated the delivery address, but the team missed it.
06:17Gosh. I wish we got the number of that house.
06:19I know. I know. Really annoying.
06:22But the team is able to wind back the call recording to take another look.
06:27Nick, could you set up for a call with the GIs?
06:29I want to roll back that screen record to get the address.
06:34Nick gets ground interceptor's Harriet and Mia on the line while Mark listens back to the call.
06:41Hi.
06:42Hi, Nick.
06:43We've got an interesting one for you over in Ilford.
06:46OK.
06:48We've got an address. Nick, one second.
06:50Great. We've got an address for her.
06:52OK.
06:53So this woman, she's thinking she's getting the delivery of a new SIM card tomorrow.
06:56That's not what she's getting.
06:57So if you guys can get through to her and tell her that this is a scam, she needs to contact her mobile provider and tell them.
07:04OK.
07:05All right. Best of luck.
07:06On the way.
07:08The ground team head to the address, but the scammers are still keeping the pressure on Miss Ojo.
07:14So I am going to share you one last code that is for the delivery.
07:19Can you please have a look on your text message inbox?
07:22Do you receive the last six digit verification code on your text message inbox?
07:27What's the code?
07:29One five zero.
07:32One five zero.
07:34That might be the order.
07:36That's an end of the delivery.
07:38Nick's worried that Miss Ojo has handed out a second one-time passcode,
07:42which could be to approve a large order in her name.
07:47From what we've just heard, they've taken her one-time passcode.
07:51They've accessed her account with her mobile phone provider online.
07:54They've ordered whatever it is that they want to be delivered to her address
07:59in the guise of a new SIM card being delivered.
08:02Having got what he needed, the scammer has finished with Miss Ojo.
08:06Everything is done from my end, okay?
08:08Okay.
08:11And whenever you need any help, you have to call on the number 020.
08:16And we will be here for yourself, nine to five at any time.
08:19Okay, ma'am?
08:21Yeah, bye-bye.
08:23Bye for now.
08:24Our ground team is closing in on Miss Ojo's location.
08:31Ten minutes.
08:34So we really need to be able to win this lady's trust.
08:39Harriet and Mia need to convince Miss Ojo to let them help her.
08:44It's unfortunate in this case that we're going to have to knock on the door
08:47and tell this poor lady that she's already been scammed.
08:54But at least we can help her from there going forward.
08:58Two minutes.
09:00Two minutes away.
09:06Okay, this is the one.
09:08This is the building.
09:09This is the house.
09:25Hi there.
09:26Hello.
09:27So my name's Harriet Leaf.
09:28I'm from the BBC.
09:30I work for a programme called Scam Interceptors.
09:33Have you had a phone call this morning from somebody?
09:35Yeah.
09:36So I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but, and please don't panic,
09:40but we believe that you've been a victim of a scam.
09:43We're going to help you.
09:44Did they ask you to order a new SIM card?
09:48She's all shit.
09:50Miss Ojo invites Harriet and Mia inside.
09:53She's happy for us to film, but asks for us to keep her face off camera.
09:58So sadly, what's happened is your account has been compromised.
10:01So a scammer has been able to access your own O2 account.
10:07Don't panic, don't panic, because what we're going to do
10:10is you're going to be able to contact the bank and contact O2, okay?
10:16So they gave me a new password to put,
10:19so automatically they changed it there.
10:22Mm-hm.
10:23I'm thinking again.
10:26Whilst Miss Ojo catches her breath, Harriet updates Nick in the hub.
10:31Hi, Nick.
10:33So just to let you know, we're with the lady now.
10:36Um, she's obviously very shocked to get the news.
10:39Yeah.
10:40So what I've instructed her to do is she's contacting O2,
10:44her mobile phone provider,
10:45and she's going to try and stop the transaction at this stage.
10:48Brilliant.
10:49Okay, that's fantastic news.
10:50Thank her so much from us.
10:52And obviously, I'm really hopeful that if she does contact O2 now,
10:55they will be able to stop the transaction before it goes ahead.
10:58It'd be a good idea if I had to call my personal department as well
11:01and just tell them.
11:02Because obviously if payment details were exchanged,
11:04then it's a good idea.
11:05Absolutely.
11:07Thank you, guys.
11:08Bye.
11:10Miss Ojo gets straight on to her bank.
11:17It sounds like from the bank, no money's been debited yet.
11:22Next, she contacts her mobile phone provider.
11:26I give them my password.
11:27They send a one-time passcode on my phone,
11:30and I give it to them, and I change my password.
11:35O2 confirmed that the scammers had ordered an item in her name.
11:40which it cancelled.
11:43They also told her that nothing else had been ordered,
11:47and that they would place a fraud warning on her account
11:50and sent her a link to reset her password.
11:54It's a shock, isn't it?
11:56It is a big shock.
11:57I wasn't expecting it at all.
11:59This morning I was very scared, you know?
12:01And I was like, what's going on?
12:03But now I think I feel a little bit relieved.
12:06And thank God you were there to show up.
12:08If not for you, I wouldn't know anything, honestly,
12:10because I felt it was real.
12:13And thank God for you showing up.
12:16Well, you're very welcome,
12:17and we're just glad that we can help.
12:23At Scam Interceptors HQ,
12:25we aren't just stopping scam phone calls.
12:28We're fighting back against scammers of all stripes.
12:32And Interceptor Alice has been investigating a scam
12:35currently plaguing the UK.
12:38So Alice, you've been looking into something that is getting
12:42a lot more prevalent at the moment,
12:44and it's surrounding cryptocurrency and certainly scams around that.
12:48The figures are actually quite staggering.
12:50In the UK, over 300 million, it's thought,
12:53was lost to crypto scams last year.
12:56That is huge.
12:58In order to flush out the scammers and show how they operate,
13:03Alice is going to do some scam baiting,
13:05playing the role of someone interested in making a crypto investment.
13:09She begins her search on Facebook
13:12and quickly comes across someone offering
13:14what looks like a tantalising opportunity.
13:18So we've got a lady called Theresa O. Morrison.
13:21There's a word in here on Theresa's page.
13:25Opportunity doesn't happen.
13:26You create the emoji.
13:29Make investment a part, one word, of your daily life.
13:35It's as if it's written by someone
13:37someone who wants to grab your attention
13:39with their brilliant words of wisdom,
13:41but it's not done very well.
13:43Not really.
13:44So I decided to do a bit more digging.
13:47Mm-hmm. That's what I like.
13:50Alice decides to carry out some checks
13:52on Theresa O. Morrison's profile,
13:54not to be confused with other individuals with a similar name,
13:59including a reverse search image on her profile picture,
14:03which shows where else online the picture appears.
14:08And the truth is shocking.
14:11She is a Moldovan politician.
14:13The reason they choose these sorts of pictures,
14:15first of all, they are readily available online,
14:18and secondly, these people look smart, they look professional.
14:22Oh, blimey.
14:23Wow, so this person's having her images used.
14:26Clearly nothing to do with this.
14:27This is a politician.
14:29Goodness me.
14:30I mean, unfortunately for anyone whose image is used in this way,
14:33they've obviously not given their consent.
14:35No.
14:36But the scammers have just taken it and used it.
14:40Certain that Theresa doesn't exist and is a scammer,
14:44Alice does some more digging.
14:47Using online messenger, I was reaching out,
14:49asking them questions about what to do next,
14:51how the investments work and so on.
14:54And when I didn't reply immediately,
14:56I would get very pushy replies back,
14:59including things like double question marks,
15:02which a professional would be very unlikely to do.
15:05So they direct me to go through a number of stages.
15:09The first thing they ask is for me to download a Bitcoin wallet.
15:12A Bitcoin wallet is like an online purse where you store cryptocurrency.
15:19From there, you can buy, sell or trade using any crypto money you may have.
15:24But Alice thinks the scammers have another, more sinister motive for wanting her to set one up.
15:31They'd specifically ask me to send screenshots of every single stage and send it to them.
15:37Okay.
15:38The reason they often do this is that if you show them you're setting up your Bitcoin wallet,
15:42you will unintentionally reveal to them your seed phrase,
15:46which is a unique code or combination of words that only you should know
15:51because it gives you access to your wallet.
15:53It's basically like getting your pin to your cash card in an ATM.
15:57It's really important for a scammer to get that information
15:59because they can just get you money.
16:01Exactly.
16:03Alice doesn't go ahead with setting up a Bitcoin wallet.
16:06Instead, she stalls for time with the so-called Teresa.
16:12So I told them I was struggling with the process.
16:14Yep.
16:15So eventually they got impatient and asked me to send them money directly through PayPal.
16:19The scammers agree for Alice to send them money for the cryptocurrency investment through PayPal.
16:25But for Alice, there's another worrying sign.
16:29And this here, big red flag, they direct me to send it with family and friends.
16:35Yeah, big, big red flag, that one. No business should be asking you to do that.
16:39They're not family. They're not your friends.
16:41And they know that if you do send it in this way, it's very, very unlikely that you can get it back.
16:47Paying by family and friends on PayPal is great for sending money to people you know.
16:52But if you're paying for goods or services, you won't be covered by PayPal's purchase protection
16:57and unlikely to get your money back if something goes wrong.
17:01So you're clearly very confident at this stage.
17:05You know these are scammers.
17:07So you wanted to actually speak to them.
17:09I think they let their guard down quite a bit.
17:12I do actually have a recording of the audio, if you'd like to hear it.
17:16Yeah, absolutely. Let's play that.
17:17Hello? Teresa?
17:35Oh.
17:36Is that Teresa?
17:39Yeah. How you doing?
17:41Teresa, I'm good.
17:44I'd just like to speak to you about the PayPal process, please.
17:48Yeah.
17:49Can you just tell me what to do next, please?
17:53Okay, test me. I will tell you what to do.
17:57Certainly not a female that the profile was saying it belonged to.
18:02The language being spoken is from Nigeria.
18:06And the people on the other end of the call seem to think that we're scammers.
18:10Did you get a look at all at any of these men?
18:14I did. So I went to make a normal phone call.
18:17They went in for a video call.
18:20And the camera was not covered.
18:22So instead of seeing blonde-haired Teresa, there were actually three young men on a beach.
18:27I'd say mid-20s, early 20s.
18:30We think possibly in West Africa.
18:32It's clear the people behind this profile are scammers.
18:37Set on trying to scam people into fake cryptocurrency investments.
18:42Later in the hub, it's time to challenge them and ask them what they're up to.
18:47Okay, right. So it's three times we've tried. They've rejected it each time.
18:59So unfortunately, they might not pick up now.
19:01But I'm 100% sure this is not a real person.
19:05Not who they say they are.
19:06And definitely not a financial advisor.
19:08Despite our efforts, we didn't hear back from the person behind Teresa O Morrison's page.
19:17We reported the profile to Facebook, which told us it is investigating the content
19:23and added that it works closely with Stop Scams UK to help victims and remove scams at the source.
19:31If you think you've been scammed, then there are some steps you need to take straight away.
19:41Firstly, call your bank. The number is usually on the back of your bank card.
19:46Remove any software that scammers have asked you to install on your phone or laptop.
19:52Change your passwords on as many online accounts as you can.
19:57Report the crime to Action Fraud.
19:59Go to actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.
20:05If you're in Scotland, report the crime to the police on 101.
20:09And if you've had a scam text, forward that to 7726.
20:14That spells SPAM on your phone's keypad.
20:17The more that you report, the more that can be done to stop them.
20:22Earlier in the programme, we helped a woman from East London called Miss Ojo.
20:30She's contacting O2, her mobile phone provider, and she's going to try and stop the transaction at this stage.
20:38We believe that had we not intervened, the scammers would have ordered an expensive mobile phone in her name.
20:46Then tricked her into returning the phone to an address they control, leaving her footing the bill.
20:53We know that these Lahore-based scammers rely on a network of people in the UK to receive the stolen mobile phones before forwarding them to Pakistan.
21:08And thanks to ethical hacker Jim, we've got information on two potential properties we think could be being used to receive the stolen goods.
21:18So Nick, we know how this call centre works in terms of getting people to order mobile phones without even realising that's what's happening.
21:27But what's also crucial is the address where these phones are then sent to.
21:33And that's something Jim's been able to help us with.
21:35It is, yeah. So Jim has managed to pose as a victim himself.
21:39He basically rang up the call centre on one of the numbers they give out,
21:42pretended he was a victim who'd received a phone to his home address and then asked what he was supposed to do.
21:49And Jim captured it all on Rapidite CCTV.
21:57Hello. Yes, hello.
21:59First of all, I'm really apologised for the silly mistake.
22:03The thing which happened is they're supposed to send this parcel to another customer who placed an order with us for this mobile phone.
22:11Can you just give me the address and I will return it?
22:16The address is...
22:19Yeah.
22:21Dartford, Kent.
22:22Dartford?
22:23Yes, Kent.
22:24Now, that address could be crucial to any investigation because that is where these phones are all going.
22:31Tens of thousands of pounds worth of mobile phones per day, potentially.
22:35So it's crucial intelligence, isn't it?
22:37That's it. And the thing to remember about this is that this is a network that is all part of this scam call centre.
22:43These people in the UK who are acting as meals are also making money from these scams.
22:46And Jim has got us a second one as well.
22:50Fantastic.
22:54The first address is in Dartford, 18 miles south-east of London.
22:58We dispatch ground interceptor team Mia and Harriet to check it out and gather any evidence of parcels being received.
23:07It's quite rare to get a mule address and Jim has done brilliantly to play along with the scammers and get this particular address in Dartford for us.
23:17So we're heading there now to stake it out, see comings and goings.
23:22Any deliveries?
23:24OK.
23:25Oh, there's a delivery driver there.
23:27There's a delivery van.
23:28OK.
23:29There's a delivery van.
23:31After two hours, Harriet reports back.
23:35So what we've gathered today is there is a lot of activity at that address.
23:39We've seen four delivery drivers dropping off parcels.
23:43We've seen two people leaving with parcels, one on a moped, one in a car, all with packages.
23:50I think all we can do now is pass this information back to Nick and the guys in the hub.
23:53The second address is in Brixton, South London.
24:01Great.
24:02This is a great spot to watch for delivery drivers coming and going.
24:09The property is a block of flats.
24:12Seems to be quite a few people going in and out already since we've been here.
24:16And there's been a couple of delivery drivers.
24:19We want to find out why these addresses are being used by scammers in Pakistan to receive mobile phones.
24:26They have tricked people in the UK into paying for.
24:30All right, let's do it.
24:34So a few days later, we send reporter Harleen to the addresses to talk to the residents of the properties to see what they know.
24:45At the Brixton flat, there's no answer.
24:49So the team heads to the second property in Dartford.
24:54Let's knock on the door.
24:55Let's knock on the door.
25:03My name's Harleen Naughty. I am a reporter on BBC series Scam Interceptors.
25:09my name is harley naughty i am a reporter on bbc series scam interceptors we've been made aware that
25:22this property is receiving parcels from scammers and i just wanted to know what you know about
25:27what you know about this i don't know about nothing and i'm sorry i thought what's all that
25:33okay the man didn't want to be identified so we turned to the cameras away whilst harleen presses
25:40the man for any more information on why scammers might be using the address are you happy to have
25:47a conversation about as the parcels that are being received because we have been made aware that
25:51parcels from scammers that have mobile phones are coming into this property mobile phones actually
25:56i do have a friend he do online business on ebay okay so he do get a lot of parcels but it's like
26:03you know clothing items and things like that but he usually a lot receives a lot of parcels but i
26:11don't know about any phones the man explains that he is one of a number of people living at the
26:16property as i'm sure you can appreciate we know that there are parcels coming here from scammers
26:22that have mobile phone information actually i'm not really comfortable answering you all of these
26:27things you can go to respective authorities because i'm not really able to answer all of these questions
26:32you can make a complaint or something like that that's all i can say thank you sure no thank you
26:38for having a conversation
26:39it was good to actually speak to somebody and let them know that there are people aware of exactly
26:46what's going on at this address
26:47following harleen's visit to the properties we sent a letter detailing all our allegations to the
27:00addresses whilst we didn't get any responses from the brixton address we did from the address in
27:08darkford so mark what happened after we finished the filming so we sent a letter of our allegations to
27:13the address in question and a short time later we heard back from their solicitors interesting what
27:18did it say yeah so they completely denied our allegations they said they were completely unfounded
27:23but this is where it gets really interesting they said that their clients the people who live at that
27:26address were the victims of a crime themselves they said that they'd been contacted by an individual
27:31who said that a mobile phone had been mistakenly sent to their address and that a courier was going to
27:36come and collect it so they say they subsequently reported that to the police well i guess we're
27:41never really going to truly understand what exactly did happen however it's really good for us to learn
27:47that from them and also gives us something else that we can also take to the authorities ourselves
27:52absolutely since filming we've passed all our information about the criminal activity taking
27:59place at the rapidite solutions call center on to the relevant authorities in pakistan and the uk
28:05for now it's out of our hands but we'll be sure to keep monitoring this story on scam interceptors
28:13and share any updates in the future
28:43so
28:51you
28:53you
28:55you
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