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Monday 2 September 2019

Revealed: Credit card 'phishing' scammer's vast designer shoe collection as he and accomplice are jailed for a total of 14 years after stealing £475,000

Vast designer shoe collection of London credit card scammer
Two fraudsters who fleeced bank customers out of nearly £500,000 to live 'Premier League footballers' lifestyles' with huge trainer collections have been jailed.
Desmond Amoako, 30, and Sami Ebraheem, 29, carried out hundreds of 'sim swaps' - replacing bank customers' sim cards with replacements that allowed them to take over victims' phones.
The pair also sent 'phishing' and 'smishing' emails or texts to dupe people into handing over personal information in the scam which netted a total of £457,000.
In a 'sim swap' scam, fraudsters order a replacement sim card for a customer's phone, enabling them to take control of the individual's mobile phone number.

Fraudster Desmond Amoako built up a huge shoe collection by scamming bank customers out of nearly £500,000
Fraudster Desmond Amoako built up a huge shoe collection by scamming bank customers out of nearly £500,000
Amoako has now been jailed for four years
His partner in crime Sami Ebraheem got two years, four months
Amoako (left) has now been jailed for four years. His partner in crime Sami Ebraheem (right) got two years, four months
They intercept text messages containing sensitive information, including security codes sent by banks or card companies, to complete purchases and bank transfers online.
Amoako blew vast amounts of cash at high-end fashion stores including Gucci and Louis Vuitton, as well as luxury restaurants across London, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.
He rented a luxury flat in north London and leased a fleet of expensive cars including a Range Rover, a Porsche and a Bentley.
Amoako was arrested at a branch of Metro Bank in Romford, last October with a mobile phone that had been used to conduct over 100 sim swaps.
Ebraheem was arrested at a flat where he was had stashed mobile phones and laptops containing personal and financial details of more than 1,500 customers.
A third man, Ponle Odusina, was also arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position.
Odusina was recruited by the fraudsters and received £100 for each sim card swap he completed after receiving customer details from Amoako.
Amoako trainer collection included these Christian Louboutin shoes worth £780 a pair
Amoako trainer collection included these Christian Louboutin shoes worth £780 a pair
CCTV showed Amoako on one of his many lavish shopping trips in west London
Ponle Odusina, who was also part of the scam, avoided a jail term
Left: CCTV showed Amoako on one of his many lavish shopping trips in west London. Right: Ponle Odusina, who was also part of the scam, avoided a jail term
Amoako, of north-west London, was jailed for a total of four years for conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of articles for use in fraud.  
Ebraheem, of Kilburn, was sentenced to two years and four months for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Odushina, of north London, received a suspended prison sentence of 12 weeks and 80 hours of unpaid work for fraud by abuse of position.
Detective Constable Andrew Hammond, investigating on behalf of Dedicated Card Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), said: 'This was a highly sophisticated scam.
'These criminals us[ed] mobile "sim swaps" to commit almost half a million pounds worth of fraud.
'Amaoko was living a lavish lifestyle similar to a Premier League footballer off the proceeds of these crimes.
'It's important that people are vigilant against the growing threat of sim swap scams.'
Police bodycam images from when they raided the fraudsters home show his sim cards
Police bodycam images from when they raided the fraudsters home show his sim cards
Mark Tingey, Head of Financial Crime Operations at Metro Bank, said: 'We work closely with stakeholders across the industry including other banks, network operators and law enforcement agencies to help prevent and protect customers from these crimes.
'Our team has worked diligently over many months to support this investigation and bring these criminals to justice.'
All of the victims have now been fully refunded by their banks.

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