A phone number impersonation service targeted by a wave of arrests

The iSpoof service, which offered to spoof a phone number (also called plagiarism ”), was the subject of a vast police operation that led to the arrest of one hundred and forty-two people around the world, Europol announcedthat coordinated this investigation, Thursday, November 24.

According to UK authorities, iSpoof It has been operating since December 2020. In August 2021, a netizen posted a message on a discussion forum known for cybercrime promoting iSpoof, promising several tools to scammers. The post sold, among other things, the ability to make calls by spoofing any number, including banks. He stressed that it is possible, with this system, to intercept “OTP” codes, that is, the double authentication system used by many services, which consists, for example, of receiving a code from his bank to verify the validity of the transaction. Publicity for the tool strongly indicated that it was primarily aimed at internet users willing to present themselves for bank fraud.

According to Europol, the iSpoof managers had made, through the sale of their services, more than €3.7 million in sixteen months, and the British authorities – who announced they would warn all identified victims – put the total damages at more. from 115 million euros. The organization also announced that one hundred and forty-two Users and Administrators He was arrested as part of an investigation opened in October 2021 by the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, Eurojust. Servers in the Netherlands have also been hacked, Dutch police say. In France, nine people have been taken into police custody and then released as part of an ongoing preliminary investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Leave a warning to “customers”

according to guardianAnd the The man who is suspected of masterminding the operationTeejai F. is 34 years old and resides in London. British authorities arrested him on November 7 and he is expected to appear in court on December 6.

The authorities have now not only controlled the domain names used by iSpoof, but also the Telegram chat channel used by its operators. On Thursday morning, a letter apparently signed by the London police was posted there, stating that there had been “Several months, we had access to the servers [de iSpoof] and obtained data about their customers.”. Accompanied by a video, it converts ad codes that are usually broadcast by a tool plagiarismand ends with the logos of the services that participated in this international operation, warning:

“Did you make impersonation calls? One hundred and forty-two people have already been arrested. The investigation into this data is ongoing. Don’t be surprised if more visits follow.”