Vodafone UK and NCA help police smash criminal SIM farm networks

Broadband and mobile operator VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK) has revealed that they recently worked alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London Police to help identify and disrupt criminal SIM farm networks in “one of the largest hauls ever recovered” – resulting in 8 arrests and more.

The “SIM farms” being reference above reflect electronic devices that are capable of using five or more SIM cards simultaneously or interchangeably, and which allows the user to send Short Messaging Service (SMS) texts or phone calls in large numbers over the telecommunications (mobile) network. Such “farms” can have legitimate uses too, but they’re frequently used by criminals engaged in fraud (e.g. sending phishing scam/messages that are designed to steal personal or financial data).

Using a new approach developed with law enforcement, VodafoneThree were able to identify suspected SIM farm activity and then share that intelligence with the NCA and CoLP’s Fraud Targeting Cell. The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a banking industry-funded unit, used the intel to investigate individuals suspected of using SIM farm systems to target the public.

The investigation ultimately led to the disruption of organised criminal activity and the recovery of what law enforcement has described as potentially the “largest haul of compromised payment details ever recovered“. The effort has so far resulted in eight arrests, the seizure of SIM farm equipment and cash, and the recovery of more than 1 million compromised payment card details ‘phished’ from members of the public.

Rachel Andrews, Head of Corporate Security at VodafoneThree, said:

“Fraud cannot be tackled through protection measures alone. We need to go further, using our intelligence and capabilities to identify and disrupt the infrastructure that allows organised criminals to operate at scale. This collaboration with the NCA shows what can be achieved when industry and law enforcement combine their strengths, disrupting criminal activity closer to its source and preventing harm before it reaches customers and the wider public.”

Lord Hanson, Minister for Fraud, said:

“It only takes one fraudulent text to deprive people of their hard-earned money and SIM farms give fraudsters the tools to target their victims at scale.”

The law we introduced to ban their use is now in force. Those using these devices to defraud the public will not only continue to face the full force of the law but will also be hit with hefty fines.”

Criminals are increasingly working on an industrial scale, so we are meeting them with the same force by partnering with mobile networks and law enforcement to disrupt their operations and hit the scammers where it hurts.”

The announcement comes as new legislation banning the operation of SIM farms finally takes effect in the UK, strengthening powers to tackle fraud and organised crime – enabling earlier disruption, more arrests, and fewer victims. Crucially, SIM farms can hide in plain sight. Recent UK investigations have uncovered the technology operating from ordinary homes and properties in local communities.