The National Crime Agency (NCA) has shut down a major platform used by “hundreds” of criminals to defraud victims around the world.

Between 2021 and 2024, the NCA estimates over 1.3 million calls were made by Russian Coms users to 500,000 unique UK phone numbers. This resulted in 170,000 victims of fraud committed via the platform with an average reported loss of around £9,400.

The platform allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers such as financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and law enforcement agencies. The NCA said this enabled them to gain the trust of victims before stealing their money and personal details.

Fraudsters conducted a variety of scams via the platform such as taking funds for goods which were never delivered or convincing a victim that their account had been subject to fraud and that they needed to transfer their money to another account.

The platform was accessed via a handset made to look like a normal smartphone. The NCA said it used VPN apps which allowed criminals to hide their IP address and a burn app that instantly wiped the phone on activation.

Criminals paid up to £1,400 for a six-month contract for the service which was marketed through social media sites.

Three individuals have been arrested by the NCA, two of whom are believed to have been involved in the creation and development of the platform.

The NCA said victims of all ages suffered losses and calls were made to individuals in 107 different countries around the world, including the USA, France and the Bahamas.

Adrian Searle, director of the National Economic Crime Centre within the National Crime Agency, said that the organisation is going after both the criminals and the technology they exploit.

“Whilst this use of technology, which can be called ‘crime as a service’, promises anonymity, unbeknown to the criminal users, the services also store the users’ data, so we can identify who they are and how they operate,” he added. “Users of Russian Coms, and all those tempted to try out similar services, should know that these services cannot be trusted.”

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