Three Phishers Sentenced to Prison Over 3m Pounds worth Scam

Three men from a criminal group, who enticed bank clients in Britain and Ireland so they could be defrauded off over 3m pounds via a phishing scheme, have been sentenced to prison. ZDNet.co.uk published this on July 11, 2011.

On July 11, 2011, the men -Ayodeji John Kareem, Babatunde Fafore and Alonge- were jailed for orchestrating as well as executing the phishing scam following their admission to conniving for defrauding as also committing other offences.

The group reportedly dispatched spam mails so it could entice bank clients into visiting phony websites wherein they were so duped that they voluntarily provided their private details. Subsequently, it utilized those details for executing financial fraud like illegitimate payment card transactions and bank transfers. Earlier it compromised some 900 bank accounts and 10,000 credit cards.

Apparently, the accused managed to steal cash after successfully exploiting around 1,400 compromised cards, while according to the police, more than 570,000 pounds that were lost had been tracked down, revealed the Metropolitan PCeU (Police's Central eCrime Unit). ZDNet.co.uk reported this.

Remarking about the phishing scam, the Crown Prosecution Service-regulated Central Fraud Group's David Levy stated that the three men netted huge amounts of money via exploiting people's trust in an authentic-looking online service. However, they couldn't sustain the fun for long from their ill-gotten earnings, as the fraudulent, phishing e-mails along with similar websites, which trapped victimized end-users with the scam, as well enabled the authorities for reaching the scammers. People online, who thought they could run phishing operations regardless of any hurdle, must be alerted with the above incidence that it wouldn't be difficult to trace or prosecute them, Levy added. Mirror.co.uk reported this on July 11, 2011.

Remarked DI Colin Wetherill, member of PCeU that by coordinating with law enforcement along with entrepreneurial associates both inside and outside United Kingdom, the PCeU was focusing on spotting as also bringing to book everyone who carried out the above type of organized and grave crime; and mitigating the damage, as a result of the malevolent acts, to gullible people and the economy at large. Ibtimes.com published this on July 11, 2011.

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