iSpoof: 13-year jail term for UK fraud website operator

Fraudsters spoofed phone numbers to impersonate banks and tax offices

A judge has handed a 13-year and four month sentence to a UK criminal for operating the multi-million fraud website iSpoof.

The website was linked to the theft of at least £43 million from victims in the UK and nearly £100 million worldwide.

Tejay Fletcher, a 35-year-old resident of Western Gateway, London, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 18th May.

He pled guilty to several charges, including making or supplying tools for use in fraud, assisting the commission of an offense, transferring criminal property and possessing criminal property.

Through his online phone number spoofing service iSpoof, Fletcher provided tools for rent that were used in intricate financial scams. Fraudsters could use the tools to disguise their phone numbers and impersonate personnel from banks, tax offices, and other institutions.

The Metropolitan Police said criminals involved posed as representatives from banks including Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, First Direct, Halifax, Natwest, Nationwide and TSB.

The scammers would contact individuals, pretending to be concerned about suspicious activities on their accounts. They would then manipulate the victims into divulging sensitive security information, such as one-time passwords, under the pretence of safeguarding their funds.

iSpoof users had a range of packages to choose from.

By paying a monthly fee of £150 for a basic subscription, users gained a specific allocation of minutes to conduct automated bot calls through the website or app. They had the option to pay extra for additional functions, with premium packages valued at several hundred or even thousands of pounds per month.

In the UK alone, the confirmed losses are at least £43 million, while reported losses are around £48 million.

However, it is believed that the actual total could be significantly higher, due to the substantial underreporting of fraud cases.

Globally, during the 12-month period leading up to August 2022, scammers made approximately 10 million fraudulent calls using iSpoof. Approximately 3.5 million of those were made in the UK.

Until its closure in November 2022, iSpoof grew continuously. The site attracted approximately 700 new users each week and generated an average weekly income of £80,000.

At the time of its shutdown, the site had amassed a user base of 59,000 registered accounts.

iSpoof managed to accumulate over £3 million in earnings while operational. Fletcher made around £1.7 million - £1.9 million in profit, leading an extravagant lifestyle as a result.

In November 2022, when the police apprehended Fletcher and raided his residence in east London, they discovered - among other items - a Lamborghini valued at £230,000, two Range Rovers worth £120,000, and a Rolex watch worth £11,000.

Fletcher's sentence was the result of a significant international law enforcement operation, headed by the London Metropolitan Police in collaboration with the City of London Police, the National Crime Agency, Dutch authorities, Europol, Eurojust, and the FBI.

"I am incredibly proud of my team in the Cyber Crime unit who ran this investigation resulting in Fletcher pleading guilty," Detective Superintendent Helen Rance, who has been leading the investigation, said last month.

"We are doing more than ever before to protect Londoners from spoofing and cyber fraud and devised a bespoke plan to reach out to victims who were targeted via iSpoof."

As the investigation progresses, a total of 169 individuals have been arrested in the UK under suspicion of using iSpoof.

All these individuals remain under police investigation.

Commander Nik Adams from the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, said, "This case is an excellent example of how coordinated and collaborative activity across a number of law enforcement agencies can result in a significant court result for victims of fraud and cybercrime."

"This type of crime will not be tolerated and those who are involved in fraud and cybercrime will be found and brought to justice."