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The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too
IF you've ever been targeted by a scammer, you'll know it can be a scary and worrying experience. But has a fraudster ever pretended to be YOU, in order to trick people out of their hard-earned cash? 1 That's exactly what happened to me, when I discovered that my phone number had been "spoofed" and crooks were using it to try and scam people. It's a horrible form of identity fraud and a cunning way for fraudsters to attempt to steal cash or money from unsuspecting victims, as the number appears to be from a trusted source. It all started six months ago, when I started getting mysterious phone calls from strangers claiming that they'd has missed calls from me. But when I checked my call log each time, I could see that I never made the call to that number. I would tell the caller that they made a mistake, and hang up the phone. I was suspicious that these were scammers trying to lure me into handing over money in some way, so I made sure to block the numbers after I put the phone down. But the calls kept coming and each time I kept blocking the number. That was until last week, when I received a WhatsApp out of the blue from a lady I didn't know. "Hello, did you call me?" the text read. I usually don't message back when I get these sorts of WhatsApp messages, as I'm wary of scammers. But I was confused when the lady sent a screenshot of her call log - and surprisingly, my phone number was at the top of the list. I decided to message back, explaining that I didn't call her. I thanked her for flagging the missed call, and said I would look into what happened. After contacting my phone company, ID Mobile, I was told that the most likely explanation for what had happened was that my phone number had been spoofed. They said there wasn't much the company could do about my spoofed number, although I had the option to change my phone number, which would cost £25. I was also told to report the issue to Action Fraud. The thought of a scammer using my number and pretending to be me to con money out of innocent people made me sick to my stomach. So I decided to bite the bullet, swallow the £25 charge, and put the experience behind me. Even better, I've not had a single scam call or text since I switched my number - before, I used to get at least one a week. However, there's nothing to stop my new number from being spoofed too. It's also been a massive inconvenience contacting all my friends, family, and organisations to let them know about my change of number. iD Mobile said: "We understand how frustrating it is for customers to receive calls from people claiming they've been contacted by them. "In this instance, it appears the number was spoofed — a common industry issue where fraudsters fake caller IDs without needing access to the number itself." I've been told that if I report it to Action Fraud, the £25 fee will be waived - which I'm planning on doing soon. Spoofing on the rise The main reason why scammers will spoof numbers is in order to target more victims without being caught up in something called the Do Not Originate (DNO) list. Ofcom and UK Finance launched the DNO list in 2019. Companies and organisations add to the list when a rogue number is reported, and this list is shared with telecoms providers to help them identify and block calls from these numbers. It's an effective tool in filtering through scam callers - but tech and cyber security expert David McClelland said scammers are exploiting a loophole. "Perhaps because of this DNO list - although it's difficult to say for sure - scammers are now also making calls that spoof individuals' mobile numbers," he said. Spoofing is becoming a big problem. The telcoms regulator, Ofcom, is so concerned about the growing threat of spoofing that it launched a consultation in July last year on how to address the issue. It said it was "concerned" that scam calls are coming from scammers who are spoofing UK mobile numbers. It said a call from a spoofed number could appear more trustworthy, and "victims are more likely to share personal information or to make a payment, which can lead to significant financial and emotional harm". It can therefore make it much easier for fraudsters to hunt down victims and steal their money. Some 5.7million Brits have been targeted by a mobile phone scammer more than 10 times, according to research from comparison site Uswitch. And an eye-watering £1.17billion was swiped by scammers in 2024 - roughly level to what was stolen in 2023. What can you do about spoofing? Worryingly, phone companies can't do a lot about spoofing, says Jake Moore from the cybersecurity firm ESET. "There's no solid bulletproof way to stop this sort of spoofing," he says. "However, it's a good idea to report it to Action Fraud and at extreme lengths, you can change your number. "This may be challenging for some people - but it will eradicate the problem if your phone number appears on a list that hackers delve into." My spoofing experience has been sobering, and has reminded me of the importance of remaining vigilant against scammers. Set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts. This is so people can't contact you or collect personal information about you - it's surprising how much we share on our accounts. Be wary of who you share your number with. "Try to reduce the amount of companies you give your phone number to," Jake said. "Most website forms will ask for it but not all of them will require it for the service or product to work. "By limiting where your number is divulged, it reduces the chance it will be breached." If you get a cold call, never rely on just using the caller ID as a way to verify who they say they are. It's worryingly easy for scammers to spoof a number. If someone says they are from your bank, then hang up and call the number on the back of your card, or through the mobile bank app. If someone says they are from an official organisation, like HMRC, hang up and look up the number to call back on the website. Being spoofed has made me realise the lengths that scammers will go to in order to trick you into handing over money. From now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on where I'm sharing my phone number. How to stop nuisance calls and texts FED up with scam texts and calls clogging up your phone? Take these steps to fight back. On iPhone, you can enable Silence Unknown Callers by going to Settings > Phone, scrolling down to Silence Unknown Callers, tapping the option, and turning on the feature. This will block phone numbers that are not in your contacts or that you have not contacted previously. On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots for more options, tap Settings then turn on Caller ID and spam protection. This uses a database of phone numbers to determine a caller's ID and filter out spam calls. Contact the Telephone Preference Service to add your landline or mobile number to the UK's official Do Not Call register and opt out of unsolicited communications. You can register your phone number on the TPS website or by phoning 0345 070 0707. Certain phone providers offer their own blocking services, some free and some paid for. Contact your provider to find out more.
National Post
19-07-2025
- National Post
Alberta serial romance scammer fights court ruling keeping him in prison indefinitely
EDMONTON — A serial romance fraudster who faked brain cancer and used other schemes to bilk Alberta women out of thousands of dollars is fighting a court ruling to keep him in prison indefinitely. Article content Jeffrey Kent's lawyer says he has filed a notice of appeal challenging the recent ruling by an Edmonton Court of King's Bench judge to designate his client a dangerous offender. Article content Article content The designation is used to keep repeat dangerous offenders in prison for the rest of their lives pending periodic reviews by parole officials. Article content Article content Last month, a judge ruled Kent's crimes are of such a serious, harmful nature, and that — coupled with evidence suggesting he will continue such crimes if released — justifies making him a dangerous offender. Article content Court heard Kent bilked five women by romancing them and pretending to be a doctor, lawyer and businessman, and getting them to invest in bogus real estate schemes while running up their credit cards, faking brain cancer to garner sympathy and, in one case, fathering a child by one of them. Article content
CBC
18-07-2025
- CBC
Alberta serial romance scammer fights dangerous offender designation
A serial romance fraudster who faked brain cancer and used other schemes to bilk Alberta women out of thousands of dollars is fighting a court ruling to keep him in prison indefinitely. Jeffrey Kent's lawyer says he has filed a notice of appeal challenging the recent ruling by an Edmonton Court of King's Bench judge to designate his client a dangerous offender. The designation is used to keep repeat dangerous offenders in prison for the rest of their lives pending periodic reviews by parole officials. Kent's lawyer says dangerous offender rulings are usually reserved for those who commit violence. Court had previously heard Kent bilked five women by romancing them and pretending to be a doctor, lawyer and businessman, and getting them to invest in bogus real estate schemes while running up their credit cards, faking brain cancer to garner sympathy and, in one case, fathering a child by one of them. The 55-year-old Kent has other fraud and theft convictions under similar circumstances that date back more than three decades. Beginning in B.C., in 1990, he gained women's trust, then stole their money, typically spending it on gambling. Some lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kent, and two became so deeply involved that they had a child with him, learning only after they were pregnant about the extent of his deception. Dangerous offender status can be considered only if someone is convicted of a "serious personal injury offence," and fraud isn't typically in that category. Last month, a judge ruled Kent's crimes are of such a serious, harmful nature, and that — coupled with evidence suggesting he will continue such crimes if released — justifies making him a dangerous offender. Court of King's Bench Justice Melanie Hayes-Richards ruled that an indeterminate sentence was required, concluding it's the only way to manage the risk Kent and his "pattern is the deep deception" poses. "Using lie upon lie, he inserted himself into his victims' lives, promising a bright and secure future. Instead, he wreaked havoc. He destroyed their finances and left some financially destitute. He shattered their confidence, self-worth and ability to trust others," Hayes-Richards said in her decision.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Secrets of the Ukrainian draft dodgers: Fighting-fit men who avoided going to war boast about skipping the country to live on benefits in the West and laugh about 'marrying a disabled woman' to get exempted
Three years and hundreds of thousands of casualties into Russia 's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's war-weary population still sees no end in sight. With Kyiv desperate for manpower and violent press-gangers roaming the streets, many fighting-age men are willing to do almost anything to dodge the draft. They fake diseases they don't have, bribe doctors for medical exemptions and even marry disabled women to secure a coveted carer's permit, all in hopes of stopping conscription officers from darkening their doors. Some go further still, slipping across rivers in dinghies and sneaking through forests to cross borders, only to wind up in Western Europe living off benefits meant for genuine refugees. MailOnline spoke to several Ukrainian men who openly confessed how, and why, they've managed to avoid being called up to serve - men who, by their own admission, might well have fought and died on the front lines by now had they not done so. We also spoke to a lawyer building a new career as an 'anti-draft adviser', schooling clients on the myriad ways they can beat the military recruiters without stepping outside the confines of the law. The matchmaker and fraudster Levko, 41, is the proud owner of an ID card which shows he is disabled - only it's not his. He claims to have found it in 2023 at a second-hand market and bought it for a few hundred hryvnia, less than five pounds. The original owner, whose portrait is on the card, bears little resemblance to Levko. But with a bit of effort that includes regularly dyeing his hair, he says that the permit is enough to fool conscription officers, and grants him a medical exemption from military service. Levko lives each day in fear that one day, the conscription office will dig through their records and realise his fraud. If that happens, he will not only be shipped off to war, but will be slapped with a hefty fine - another fate he is keen to avoid. The 41-year-old, who works as a matchmaker, owns a marriage agency and enjoyed tidy profits before the war, arranging dates and marriages between Western men and Ukrainian women. But Russia's invasion has greatly hampered his business, not least because many women fled the country. 'I hate the Ukrainian government,' he said flatly. 'My ex-girl is now in Britain. I hate all the girls who went abroad. 'I'll join (the military) when they make women join… since they are more patriotic than men,' he quipped sarcastically. Besides his distaste for Zelensky's government, Levko wanted to avoid military service after hearing stories from friends who had been sent to fight. 'I know some people who have died in the military training,' he claims. 'One had epilepsy, but nobody knew how to care for him, so he was left to die.' He added that many prospective conscripts fear the treatment from their own military almost as much as the enemy. The 'carer' Watching a relative endure disease, illness, or old age can be a trying ordeal. But for Ukrainian fighting-age men, it is also a blessing. Artem*, 48, is unemployed, but looks after his elderly mother at home in Kyiv. As a registered carer for his 85-year-old parent, he is exempt from service. Every few months, officials drop by to verify that he still lives with her, and a yearly trip to the hospital confirms that the old woman needs care. But when Russian helicopters soared over Ukrainian skies and tanks rolled across the border some 40 months ago, Artem was not sitting at his infirm mother's bedside - his brother was responsible for caring for the matriarch, meaning Artem himself was in line to be drafted. So, the family hatched a cunning plan to safeguard the fate of both sons. Fighting-age males were restricted from leaving the country, but as a registered carer, Artem's brother was briefly permitted to accompany his mother abroad. 'My brother's family were in Poland, and he travelled there with my mother,' Artem explained. 'The next day, my mother left him in Poland and travelled back to Ukraine alone.' As soon as she stepped foot back on Ukrainian soil, Artem collected her, drove to Kyiv and immediately registered himself as her responsible carer, thus exempting him from being called up. Artem said that fears for his personal safety and his poor physical condition were paramount to his decision to avoid the draft. 'I have some problems with my back and so on, but I could serve. Now I'm safe.' Although his method for avoiding the draft is technically legal, he made it clear that many go to great lengths to obtain a golden 'carer' permit - and said he is all too happy to help them. 'You can do anything to get a deferment… find a disabled woman, psychologically problematic, get married and you're her carer,' he laughed. 'I am also trying to help those who don't know the legal processes or how to deal with the police. When they approach me, I ask them to give me their name and ID card number, which they are obliged to do under Article 32 (of the Ukrainian Law on National Police). 'If not, police can misinform you, lie to you about your rights.' Weeks after speaking with MailOnline, Artem was arrested by conscription officers and sent to military training despite his status as a carer. His associates plan to lodge a legal challenge, but we no longer know where Artem is. The crypto king who bribed a doctor Bohdan, 29, earns a living from cryptocurrency, which he says brings in the profits to afford the oldest and trustiest trick in the book - bribery. The crypto trader was able to pay a doctor a healthy fee to make out papers that allowed him to obtain a medical exemption card. In a country where the average monthly salary sits at roughly £423 per month, this is not an option available to most men. Bohdan declined to state the exact amount he paid, but was happy to provide some ballpark figures for the practice, which he believes is rife. 'Bribing a doctor can cost anywhere from $5000 to $15,000 and more, depending on the doctor' he said through a translator. Doctors in Ukraine are unlikely to be drafted, but they are still forced to register with the military and are by no means exempt from mobilisation. By dabbling in corruption and handing out papers which claim an individual is medically unfit to fight, a doctor can more than double their salary at a relatively low level of risk, Bohdan said - potentially granting him the means to dodge conscription himself. 'The doctor, he too is looking for a job which will allow him to defer or avoid the draft.' The journalist turned teacher Andriy, 38, was previously a journalist but at the outbreak of war quickly switched careers and now works as a mathematics teacher. Teachers at schools and universities are included in the list of occupations that are partially exempt from the draft. Other key industries whose employees are 'booked', meaning non-liable to serve, include the railways, energy sector, civil service and firefighters. For schoolteachers, a one-year deferral from mobilisation is easy to attain, but they are not guaranteed permanent exemption from service. Becoming a teacher, however, remains one of the most popular methods for men looking to legally avoid conscription. Andriy said that a violent run-in with a conscription officer encouraged him not to take any risks. 'They smashed my phone when I tried to record and called me rude names,' he said. This reflects a common mood amongst those avoiding military service - often they are supportive of the cause yet dislike the conscription officers and police. 'Often I make videos of the police when they do document checks - often the police aren't checking the documents properly, they can just seize you.' But the guilt of not serving has driven Andriy to support Ukraine's efforts elsewhere. 'It is morally difficult […] from the first days of the war, I helped the armed forces of Ukraine. I travelled to the newly liberated territories, bringing humanitarian aid to people.' The 'deserter' Ihor, 35, was not content with any of the aforementioned approaches to avoid the military call-up. Instead, he resorted to the most secure option, but one that comes with the greatest risk - fleeing the country altogether. He explained how he left his home to track west, crossing the Dniester river in a rubber dinghy before slipping across the border into Moldova. Ihor refused to give specifics of his journey, only to say that he eventually managed to reach Ireland. He now claims to be living off benefit payments in state-supported accommodation, though it is unclear how long he will manage to continue doing so as the Irish government declared it was shuttering some housing facilities over the summer. When asked to explain his reasons for leaving, he became jittery and refused to give details answers. 'War makes you weird psychologically, I would like to be normal,' he said, adding that he did not want 'to fight for oligarchs and US money'. When we pressed further, he refused to speak, declaring that journalists should 'focus on Zelensky and reasons for the war' and rolled back his earlier claims. 'I am here legally because I came here on a deferment from the military,' he said. Under the EU-wide Temporary Protection Status, all Ukrainians who have left the country have a right to housing support, work, healthcare and social benefits. But individual countries' support for Ukrainian refugees varies, with Poland no longer providing welfare to men of fighting age. 'There should be no financial incentives for avoiding the draft in Ukraine,' Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski urged last year. In April 2024, Ukraine also stopped offering consular support to fighting age men. The 'anti-draft' lawyer Vadym Sydorenko is a lawyer who specialises in conscription law. He told MailOnline that there are many ways that fighting age males can obtain legal exemptions from the draft. He also argued that it is in Ukraine's interests that they do so. 'The main profile of my clients is small and medium-sized business owners,' Vadym said, explaining that he helps them in 'obtaining the status of a critical business, allowing them to book employees'. 'The state is interested in ensuring that critical companies continue to operate… electricity generation and utility workers, prosthetics, teachers, lecturers, for example. 'The list of businesses and trades considered vital for society to continue functioning is quite large,' he said. However, the army is desperate to swell its ranks and recruitment officers often clash with business owners as they compete for manpower. Vadym recalled one such case in which the armed forces blocked the transfer of a protected worker to a company and subsequently sent him to the front lines. 'The company planned to 'book' this employee in October, but he was mobilised on September 10. 'On September 11, the company promptly applied for a reservation and within one hour the employee was formally 'booked'. However, the military unit refused to release the employee. 'Since he was given military status the day before, the position of the military unit was found to be legal.' At present, Ukraine's young men remain exempt from such horrors. Conscription law dictates that males aged 25-60 are eligible for mobilisation, after Volodymyr Zelensky revised the lower age limit of 27 down by two years in April 2024. Zelensky has thus far resisted calls from the US to lower the draft age from 25 to 18, arguing that such a move would damage the country's long-term future. His argument was strengthened by a recent statement from Ukraine's Ministry of Economy claiming the nation has lost 40% of its working-age population versus prewar figures. But the government in February introduced 'Contract 18-24' - a scheme that encourages young men to voluntarily join the Armed Forces on a one-year contract. In return, volunteers are awarded a package that includes a stipend of 1 million hryvnia (£17,467), an additional monthly salary of 120,000 hryvnia (£2,096), free healthcare, state-subsidised study opportunities, zero-per-cent mortgage options and the option to delay future mobilisation by up to one year. Yet, as conscription lawyer Vadym points out, 'there are some difficulties in extending the deferral for a second year.'
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
AI Marco Rubio Is Calling: State Department Investigates High-Level Scam
Someone is impersonating U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to contact high-level politicians, ... More according to the State Department. The U.S. State Department says it's investigating a scam in which an unknown person is posing as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio when contacting powerful government officials. The fraudster has reached out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor via text, popular encrypted messaging platform Signal and voicemail, according to a July 3 internal state department memo first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by several other publications, including the Guardian. The identity of the politicians on the receiving end of the fake Rubio messages has not been released, nor has the content of the communication. While it's unclear who's behind the scam, the goal appears to be gaining access to information or accounts of high-level government players. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the Rubio scam, but said in the cable that 'there is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised.' The department also said it 'takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information, and continuously takes steps to improve the department's cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.' As increasingly realistic AI voices proliferate in customer service, marketing and entertainment, it's getting harder to distinguish between synthetic and human voices. That realism can, of course, serve a purpose — take the 'AI granny' expressly created to waste scammers' time by keeping them on the phone as long as possible in a bid to annoy and frustrate them. But vocal clones can also easily spread misinformation and could hold serious implications for national security. 'It was only a matter of time,' David Axelrod, former senior political adviser to President Barack Obama, wrote on X of the Rubio impersonation. 'This is the new world in which we live and we'd better figure out how to defend against it because of its implications for our democracy and the world.' This is not the first time AI-generated voices have been used to impersonate government officials. Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission outlawed AI-generated robocalls after a surge in deepfakes made to sound like political candidates. These included deepfake robocalls from then-President Joe Biden promoting fraudulent views to New Hampshire voters before the state's primary in January.
