UK charges suspects linked to Russian Coms call spoofing platform
UK charges five suspects linked to Russian Coms, a platform used for millions of scam calls.
Summary
UK authorities have charged five individuals in connection with Russian Coms, a caller ID spoofing platform used by criminals to conduct over 1.8 million scam calls. The platform, active since 2020, allowed users to disguise their calls as originating from legitimate institutions, leading to significant financial losses and data theft. The charges include conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering, with the suspects set to appear in court.
Full text
UK charges suspects linked to Russian Coms call spoofing platform By Sergiu Gatlan July 13, 2026 09:23 AM 0 UK authorities charged five people following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into Russian Coms, a major caller ID spoofing platform used by criminals to make over 1.8 million scam calls. The five people charged are 28-year-old Ayoub Sehailia, 30-year-old Zakkaria Sehailia, 30-year-old Usman Din, 29-year-old Denis Ozmus, and 53-year-old Fadila Salem, 53, all from London. The list of charges includes conspiracy to supply articles for use in connection with fraud, transferring or converting criminal property, and, in Zakkaria Sehailia's case, failing to comply with a notice to provide phone passcodes. All five are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, August 14. "The platform, established in 2020, started as a handset and then moved to a web-based application, with both products being marketed and sold. They allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers. These would often be of financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies with the aim of stealing funds and personal details from victims," the NCA said on Monday. "Following an NCA investigation, five individuals have been charged in relation to supplying Russian Coms devices and apps and offences relating to money made from allegedly selling the devices." Since 2020, when it first surfaced, the platform has been linked to tens of millions in financial losses affecting an estimated 170,000 victims. As the NCA revealed in March 2024, when it took down the Russian Coms platform, hundreds of criminals paid for six-month contracts, priced at £1,200 to £1,400 in cryptocurrency, to use its "flagship" services. Today, the NCA can reveal that they have shut down a platform used by hundreds of criminals to defraud victims across the world. FULL STORY https://t.co/XMtmrnhi3Q pic.twitter.com/toStq5jpRC — National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) August 1, 2024 Until its shutdown, criminals used the platform to make over 1.3 million calls to 500,000 unique phone numbers across more than 107 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Norway, and France, resulting in average losses of over £9,400. Promoted on Telegram, Snapchat, and Instagram, Russian Coms was available as a web app and as a handset, offering customers encrypted calls, a web phone, no-logs, international calls, voice-changing services, instant handset wipes, and 24/7 support. Scammers used Russian Coms to spoof bank phone numbers, which helped them gain the targets' trust. They then persuaded the victims to transfer their money to attacker-controlled accounts to protect their savings, claiming the victims' accounts had been involved in fraudulent activity. The platform's takedown followed arrests of three men in Newham, London, two of whom were believed to be its administrators and developers. At the time, law enforcement in the UK and international partners, supported by Europol, also announced plans for further action against people who used the platform to make fraudulent calls. Russian Coms' shutdown was part of a broader effort called "Operation Henhouse" that led to 290 arrests across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Test every layer before attackers do Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.The Picus whitepaper shows how breach and attack simulation tests your SIEM and EDR rules so threats stop slipping by detection. Get the whitepaper Related Articles: FBI warns of fake FIFA websites running World Cup fraud schemesPolice arrests 5,800 suspects in global anti-fraud crackdownFTC warns of record $3.5 billion losses to imposter scams in 2025Nottingham University data breach affects over 450,000 studentsEU sanctions Russian GRU military hackers over cyberattacks