Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has shut a platform allegedly behind tens of millions in losses to fraud victims and has been active for the past three years.
The agency, Britain’s national law enforcement agency, detailed that Russian Coms users had made over 1.3 million calls to 500,000 unique phone numbers, with more than 170,000 people thought to be victims of fraudulent activity as a result.
Russian Coms enabled criminals to use pre-selected numbers to hide their identities, initially via a handset and later via a web app. The platform’s widespread use and impact shows the extent to which fraud has developed in recent years, and taken up new technologies.
Pre-selected numbers usually came from financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies, enabling fraudsters to impersonate people of authority or authenticity, and better trick victims into handing over personal details or sending funds.
Adrian Searle, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre within the National Crime Agency, said: “Criminals are increasingly using technology to carry out fraud and other crimes on an industrial scale, causing very real harm to victims in the UK and across the world.
“The NCA and our partners here in the UK and overseas are going after both the criminals and the technology they exploit. Whilst this use of technology, which can be called ‘crime as a service’, promises anonymity, unbeknown to the criminal users, the services also store the users’ data, so we can identify who they are and how they operate.
“Users of Russian Coms, and all those tempted to try out similar services, should know that these services cannot be trusted.”
Calls were made using Russian Coms to 107 different countries, including the US, New Zealand, Norway, France and the Bahamas. Users hide their identities using VPN apps, and a burn app would instantly wipe the smartphone used for the crimes once activated.
Fraudsters purchased the handset on a subscription basis, with a six month contract costing between £1,200 and £1,400 depending on collection and delivery, according to the NCA. The web app, meanwhile, cost a monthly subscription of £350 a month paid with crypto.
Fraud has become a major talking point in the UK over recent years, with APP fraud alone resulting in an estimated £459.7m in losses in 2023. New reimbursement rules are coming into effect in October, introduced by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), but there has been some pushback from the industry regarding this.
Lord Sir David Hanson, Minister of State at the Home Office with Responsibility for Fraud’, said: “Fraud is a crime that can devastate lives, and anyone can be affected. That’s why this action from the NCA is so significant, shutting down an illegal platform used by hundreds of criminals, and disrupting the flow of funds that their networks rely on to operate.
“It also sends a vital message to others committing fraud – law enforcement is monitoring you, you will be caught, and you will be dealt with using the full force of the law.
“But this new government knows that more needs to be done to tackle fraud and we will continue to collaborate with law enforcement and industry to better protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime.
“I am grateful to the NCA, and their partners, whose tireless dedication makes today’s news possible.”
