Police have caught a conman who sent thousands and thousands of scam text messages to Brits worried about coronavirus.
Mohammed Khan, 20, from Camden, London, pleaded guilty to two charges after being arrested last week following a police raid on his home.
Khan admitted sending fraudulent text messages pretending to be from the government offering tax refunds as a result of the pandemic.
Messages included links fake government websites, designed to trick people into giving away personal and account details.
Commander Karen Baxter of City of London Police said: “Criminals are seeking to profit on people’s anxiety during the pandemic, by using a national crisis to defraud their victims.
"We’re doing what we can to bring these people before the courts or to disrupt their activity to stop them preying on the public."
Other messages sent by Khan claimed to be from mobile phone operators offering refunds as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) also found bank account information that had been harvested from unsuspecting victims - seeing more than 200 customer accounts protected as a result.
Officers seized a number of digital devices from Khan’s home address in Camden, London, which provided evidence the suspect was involved in the Covid-19 fraudulent messaging campaigns.
Khan pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and one count possession of articles for use in fraud.
He has now been remanded in custody while waiting a court sentencing date.
DCI Gary Robinson, head of DCPCU, said: “The DCPCU will continue working with banks and mobile phone companies to clamp down on the criminal gangs callously seeking to exploit the Covid-19 crisis to defraud people.
"It is thanks to this strong collaboration between the public and private sector that we can bring these criminals to justice."
He added: “Criminals are experts at impersonating trusted organisations like the government or HMRC and will try to play on people’s concerns about their finances at this difficult time.
"It’s therefore crucial to always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and not to click on links in any messages that ask for your personal or financial details in case it’s a scam.”
Commander Baxter said: “We need the public to treat any unexpected text, email or phone call with suspicion, not respond or click on any links and always double check whether it’s legitimate or not.”
