British Scammer Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13 Years in Prison for Cyber Crimes
The British national in charge of his now-defunct role as administrator iSpoof online phone number spoofing service has been sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison.
Tejay Fletcher, 35, of Western Gateway, London, was sentenced on 18 May 2023. He plead guilty last month for a number of cyber offenses, including facilitating fraud and possessing and transferring criminal property.
iSpoof, which is available as a paid service, allows fraudsters to mask their phone numbers and impersonate representatives of banks, tax offices, and other legitimate bodies to defraud victims.
The help desk scam is intended to warn targets about suspicious activity in their accounts and trick them into disclosing sensitive financial information or transferring money to accounts under the threat actor’s control.
According to the UK’s Metropolitan Police, the criminals used fake identities as representatives of various banks such as Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, First Direct, Natwest, Nationwide and TSB.
“The website offers a number of plans for users who will buy, in Bitcoins, the number of minutes they want to use the software to make calls,” Met said in a statement.
The total loss of victims in the UK alone is said to be over £48 million ($59.8 million), with the global total estimated at at least £100 million ($124.6 million).
iSpoof was dismantled in November 2022 as part of a coordinated law enforcement operation, which resulted in the arrest of Fletcher and 168 others associated with the operation.
Fletcher is believed to have made an estimated £1.7 – £1.9 million ($2.1 – $2.3 million) in illegal proceeds, in addition to owning a Range Rover, Lamborghini Urus and high-end watches from Rolex and Audemars Piguet.
Zero Trust + Deception: Learn How to Outsmart Attackers!
Discover how Fraud can detect advanced threats, stop lateral moves, and improve your Zero Trust strategy. Join our insightful webinar!
“Fletcher spends time marketing iSpoof on his Telegram Channel, The iSpoof Club,” noted Met. “Fletcher is setting up a channel to promote iSpoof and will update users and promote updates and improvements to the website.”
A search of his home following his arrest in November 2022 uncovered more than 30 cellphones and a number of SIM cards used to carry out the scheme.
“By setting up iSpoof, Fletcher created a gateway for thousands of criminals to scam innocent victims out of millions of pounds,” said Detective Inspector Helen Rance. “Meanwhile he lives a lavish lifestyle benefiting from profits.”
