Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Crime (150 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Crime

copper vs fibre optic openreach engineer

9 Attacks on Openreach Cables in London Prompt £20k Reward

1st October, 2020 (11 Comments)

Back in August we reported on a spate of copper telecoms cable thefts (Metal Theft) in East London, which had disrupted broadband ISP and phone connectivity on Openreach’s (BT) UK network for those living nearby (here). After a ninth attack the reward for information has now been raised from £1k to £20k.

Three UK and EE Protect 5G Mobile Masts with SmartWater

18th August, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL) organisation, which runs the joint network sharing venture between mobile operators EE (BT) and Three UK, has moved to protect 4G and 5G based mobile masts by deploying SmartWater technology to forensically tag vandals who attack their infrastructure.

5G Conspiracy Theorists Hire Lawyer to Sue UK Gov Over Health Fears

15th August, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Action Against 5G mobile group, which holds to a widely debunked conspiracy theory that “radio-frequency radiation from masts and wireless devices puts health and life at risk“, has crowd-funded £105K to hire barrister Michael Mansfield QC in order to take legal action against the UK Government to stop the roll-out.

Wave of Copper Cable Thefts Hit Broadband in East London

12th August, 2020 (4 Comments)

Over the past few weeks criminal gangs have conducted a series of thefts (Metal Thefts) of copper telecoms cable in East London, which has disrupted broadband ISP and phone connectivity on Openreach’s (BT) UK network for those living closest to the incidents. As usual a reward of £1,000 is being offered to help catch the thieves.

Fake Engineers Steal Batteries from Openreach Street Cabinets

9th July, 2020 (21 Comments)

The Worcester Crown Court (WCC) has this week convicted three men after they dressed up as fake engineers in order to steal vital backup batteries from Openreach’s (BT) street cabinets, which supply broadband and phone connectivity to homes and businesses. The thefts took place across the UK.

COVID-19 5G Conspiracy Arsonist Gets 3 Years for Burning Mast

9th June, 2020 (0 Comments)

The Liverpool Crown Court has sentenced Michael Whitty (47) to three years in prison after he set fire to one of Vodafone UK’s 4G masts in Kirkby on 5th April 2020, which caused damage estimated to be worth up to £15,000. Whitty’s action was fuelled by a bonkers conspiracy theory that links the spread of COVID-19 to 5G.

Trading Standards to Halt Sales of £300 SCAM Anti-5G USB Stick

29th May, 2020 (0 Comments)

The City of London Police (Action Fraud Squad) and UK Trading Standards are to target sales of the bizarre £300 5GBioShield, which was recommended by a member of Glastonbury Town Council’s much criticised 5G Advisory Committee and falsely promised to create a shield against 5G mobile radiation. Except it’s just a USB stick.

Ofcom Records Drop in UK Nuisance Calls, But Problems Remain

4th May, 2020 (6 Comments)

A few years ago Ofcom nudged UK broadband ISPs and mobile operators to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Nuisance Calls, which committed them to develop technical measures for “reducing the impact of unlawful nuisance calls on consumers.” The latest data shows an improvement, but not as much as we’d like.

500 Glasgow Premises Without Broadband After Arson Attack UPDATE

25th April, 2020 (26 Comments)

“Stupid is as stupid does,” said the great philosopher Forest Gump. In keeping with that somebody, most likely one of the “mindless” COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, has decided to burn key fixed line broadband ISP and phone cables in part of Glasgow during a pandemic, thus leaving 500 people without connectivity.

Smishing – UK Mobile Firms Unite to Stop COVID-19 Text SCAMS

22nd April, 2020 (3 Comments)

A rise in COVID-19 (Coronavirus) related text message scams (e.g. Smishing), which often attempt to trick UK mobile users into parting with their money or other sensitive personal details, has prompted mobile operators to join with other industries in order to update a trial of the new SMS SenderID Protection Registry.

39 BT Engineers Assaulted by “Mindless Idiot” 5G Conspiracy Theorists UPDATE

14th April, 2020 (0 Comments)

The CEO of broadband and mobile giant BT, Philip Jansen, has revealed that 39 engineers have been verbally or physically assaulted – including threats to kill – over the completely bonkers conspiracy theory that links the spread of COVID-19 to 5G (11 mobile masts have also been destroyed or damaged by arson – 33 from all UK operators).

Copper Thieves Shun Lockdown, Cut Broadband in West Cumbria

7th April, 2020 (29 Comments)

Police have launched an investigation after hundreds of homes in Maryport, West Cumbria (England), were left without access to vital broadband connections following the theft of copper telecoms cables from Openreach’s (BT) local network during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis.

COVID-19 – UK Government Gets Tough on Criminal 5G Vandals

6th April, 2020 (0 Comments)

Over the past couple of weeks the increasingly absurd anti-5G campaign has taken a chilling turn. Videos have emerged of arson against several UK mobile masts and engineers being abused while doing their jobs. The criminal activity has been fuelled by a bogus conspiracy theory that links the spread of COVID-19 to the 5G roll-out.

Copper Cable Theft Knocks Out Broadband in Worcester Suburb

16th November, 2019 (10 Comments)

Many homes and businesses in the St Johns suburb of Worcester have been left without access to both broadband and phone services for several days, which occurred after criminals ripped up two of Openreach’s (BT) core underground copper telecoms cables from the ground (aka – Metal Theft) on Tuesday.

Mass Piracy Website Blocks by UK ISPs Fuel Legal Alternatives

17th October, 2019 (13 Comments)

A new study, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Chapman University, has examined the impact of forcing UK broadband ISPs to block individual piracy websites (via court order) and discovered that it caused a decrease in overall piracy, as well as a 7 to 12% increase in the use of legal subscription sites.

Court Forces Big UK ISPs to Block Nintendo Switch Piracy Sites

10th September, 2019 (17 Comments)

Nintendo has won an injunction in the UK High Court that forces all of the largest broadband ISPs – Sky Broadband, BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and EE – to block four websites that were found to have facilitated copyright infringement (internet piracy) by helping to distribute video games for the company’s Switch console.

Copper Cable Thieves Strike Openreach AGAIN in Cambridgeshire UK

6th September, 2019 (23 Comments)

Police are investigating after around 2,200 premises in Cambourne were left without broadband ISP and phone access to Openreach’s (BT) national network following a major theft of the operator’s core copper cables, which is the latest in a spate of seemingly related “Metal Theft” incidents in Cambridgeshire.