Britain’s National Crime Agency has shut down a platform used by hundreds of criminals to scam victims around the world through fake phone calls.
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Russian Coms, founded in 2021, is believed to be responsible for tens of millions of dollars in financial losses. An estimated 170,000 people across the UK are believed to be victims.
The platform allowed criminals to hide their identities by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers, most commonly financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies.
Between 2021 and 2024, Russian communications users made over 1.3 million calls to 500,000 unique UK phone numbers. The average loss of those who reported Action Fraud is over £9,400.
Russian Coms was available as a mobile phone and later as a web app and was marketed across Snapchat, Instagram and Telegram. According to advertisements shared on social media, the service included “unlimited minutes,” “music on hold,” “encrypted phone calls,” “instant handset wipe,” international calling, voice switching services and 24/7 support.
Only fake calls could be made using the handset. It was equipped with a number of fake applications that had no functionality, making it look like an everyday smartphone when confiscated by law enforcement. There were also several VPN apps that allowed the user to hide their IP address and a burning app that immediately wiped the phone once activated. A six-month contract costs between £1,200 and £1,400 depending on collection and delivery.
The web app was marketed as a “flagship service” that provides full access to the Russian Coms webphone for £350 per month, paid in cryptocurrency.
Adrian Searle, director of the National Economic Crime Center within the National Crime Agency, said: “Criminals are increasingly using technology to commit fraud and other crimes on an industrial scale, causing huge harm to victims in the UK and around the world. “
“While this use of technology, which can be described as ‘crime as a service’, promises anonymity unknown to criminal users, the services also store users’ data so that we can identify who they are and how they operate .”
Three people were arrested by the NCA, two of whom are believed to have been involved in the creation and development of the platform. They were released on conditional bail. Searle says law enforcement partners in the UK and abroad, with support from Europol, will take joint action against users in the coming months.
