Britain’s fraudsters reveal how they hack into accounts

Some of Britain’s biggest fraudsters have revealed how it takes less than two minutes to scam victims into sharing their bank account details – using an app.

Criminals take just 82 seconds to gain their victim’s trust and get them to hand over their personal details to gain access to their money, sometimes as much as thousands of pounds, a new documentary reveals. 

In Channel 5 series Undercover: Nailing The Fraudsters, Tony Sales, who has been dubbed ‘Britain’s greatest fraudster’, reveals how the the app – called Spoofcard – can change the number that appears a the victim’s phone to make it look like their bank is calling.

Spoofcard – which is free to download but requires users to buy credits – also provides artificial background noises to disguise a fraudster’s location.

Tony Sales, who has been dubbed ‘Britain’s greatest fraudster’, now works for the police after earning thousands through fraud

Sales showed an app that allowed fraudsters to disguise phone calls to trick victims into thinking their bank is calling them

Sales showed an app that allowed fraudsters to disguise phone calls to trick victims into thinking their bank is calling them

The programme also interviewed a man known only as Peter, who creates fake websites that look like those of high street banks so victims are tricked into entering their personal details

The programme also interviewed a man known only as Peter, who creates fake websites that look like those of high street banks so victims are tricked into entering their personal details

HOW THE SPOOFCARD APP WORKS

Download the app for free through a website

Pay for credits to make phone calls

When making a call, type in the number

Then type in the caller ID that you want to be displayed on the recipient’s phone 

Also a feature that allows the user to select fake background noise – such as conversation/sound of a busy office 

On the app’s website page it says: ‘Easily Disguise Your Caller ID. Change the number that displays on phone calls and text messages. It’s quick, easy, and works on any phone.’ 

It also says that ‘privacy is key’, adding: ‘Your identity will always be anonymous when using SpoofCard’s Caller ID spoofing. Place calls without ever displaying your real number and use our background noise options to protect your location.’ 

After downloading the app, the scammers pay for credits. They then type in the number they would like to call – followed by the caller ID they want to be displayed on the recipient’s phone.

Sales added: ‘Unfortunately since the invention of the internet we all put our lives online, so once we put our life into the cloud you only have to wait for it to rain. 

‘Your information is going to come down it’s not if but when. You have to be really careful with the information you give away, but unfortunately the likes of Facebook, twitter all that stuff out there all want to share pictures of ourselves we all want to be told happy birthday, so fraudsters play into that.‘

Another scammer, who makes up to £200,000 a month, sets up fake websites that look identical to the homepages of the high street banks, tricking customers into entering their details so that their accounts can be accessed in minutes.

Sales, who now advises the police on hackers, blamed the rise of the internet and social media for making people more vulnerable to fraud.

If a scammer wanted to get into someone’s account or apply for a credit card in their name, sites like Facebook provide them vital information like birthdays and addresses, he explained.

When a fraudster calls, they will often tell a victim there has been fraudulent activity on their account, and ask them to answer security questions in order to ‘confirm’ the suspicious activity, Sales said.

If a ‘secret’ app is used, the victim will often believe they’ve received a call from their bank and will happily reveal their details so put an end to the suspicious activity.

Wearing a balaclava, Peter told the presenter he uses Facebook and other social media sites to gather information about the victim that can be used to answer bank security questions

Wearing a balaclava, Peter told the presenter he uses Facebook and other social media sites to gather information about the victim that can be used to answer bank security questions

Former scammer Sales (right) committed his first credit card scam at the age of just 13 and served a 12-month prison sentence in 2010

Former scammer Sales (right) committed his first credit card scam at the age of just 13 and served a 12-month prison sentence in 2010

Sales explained: ‘It’s all about getting their life savings out of them. The fraudsters wants to take as much money as possible, and they can because the victim trusts them and believes they’re the bank on the phone so they give them all that information.’

If the scammer is convincing enough on the phone, many people will reveal their account numbers and sort codes, which gives the scammer the chance to not only clear their accounts, but also shop online and apply for credit cards. 

Sales committed his first credit card scam at the age of just 13 and served a 12-month prison sentence in 2010.

Another fraudster, known only as Peter, revealed he earns £20,000 on a ‘bad month’ by scamming people – and £200,000 on a good month.

Peter will email victims with links to fake websites made to look identical to the websites of high street banks like Natwest of Lloyd’s, asking them to login to check fraudulent activity on an account.

Sales blames the rise of the internet and social media for fraud as people want to share more of their lives with strangers

Sales blames the rise of the internet and social media for fraud as people want to share more of their lives with strangers

The information entered goes straight to the fraudster, and will often leave them with pin-numbers, account numbers and sort-codes.

They can also check Facebook for answers to security questions like mother’s maiden names, pet names and school names.

The scammers will then clear the money out of the account and cash it, before putting it in a friend’s bank account.

The friend will then put a portion back into the scammer’s account so they share money.

Peter claims he knows of someone who stole £500,000 from a single person’s account and didn’t get caught for it.

Despite stealing innocent people’s entire life savings, Peter said he doesn’t feel bad about what he does.

He said: ‘If you want to call me a criminal, cool, I’m the sort of person who goes out and gets it. If I want something I’ll take it.’

Undercover: Nailing the Fraudsters airs on Wednesday at 10pm on Channel 5 



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