A gang that was allegedly utilizing a tech business to assist thieves in sending phony texts to victims has been busted by police.
37 people have been taken into custody globally, and victims are being contacted.
Police focused on Lab Host, the gang’s website, which assisted in sending the messages and directing victims to phony websites that looked like authentic online payment or shopping services.
According to the authorities, this gave the criminals the ability to steal identification information, including 480,000 card numbers and 64,000 pin codes, or “fullz data,” as it is known in the criminal community.
Although the amount of money taken is unknown to detectives, they believe the Lab Host site made close to £1 million ($1.25 million) in revenue.
- Banks warn of a sharp rise in internet fraud.
- Alert: Fraud is costing the UK £2,300 every minute.
Adrian Searle, head of the National Economic Crime Centre, stated: “Technology is enabling crime to be delivered at scale in an almost industrial fashion.”
Additionally, Lab Host has provided non-technical criminals with the means to “purchase them online and utilize them against victims in the UK and abroad.”
