Fraudsters are using stolen details to order mobile phones in the names of people from Kent, and arrange for the phones to be delivered by legitimate courier companies.
The homeowners tend to be puzzled when the devices are delivered, but a fraudster then arrives minutes later pretending to be from the courier company and saying there has been a mistake.
They ask the resident to return the item, which they can then sell or use in further offences.
An investigation by detectives from Kent Police linked two men to seven such offences which were carried out in the Maidstone, Sittingbourne, Orpington and Bexleyheath areas in May and June 2021.
When police saw that a phone used in those offences had arranged another phone purchase in Gillingham, they arrived at the delivery address at the same time as the fraudster, Babatunde Olaonipekun, and arrested him.
Olaonipekun, 42, of Lodge Hill Lane, Rochester, and his accomplice Afis Quadri, 44, of Limeburners Driver, Rochester, were both given suspended sentences at Maidstone Crown Court on 11 September 2024 after admitting conspiracy to defraud.
Detective Chief Inspector Helen Smithers said: ‘We are pleased to have brought these two men to justice, but my team believe offences of this kind are very common and under-reported.
Often people don’t realise they are victims until it is too late, and sometimes deliveries will be rerouted to a neighbour to reduce suspicion when the second apparent courier asks for the item to be returned.
We believe many of the phones, particularly iPhones, which are obtained using these frauds are quickly sent for sale abroad, making the crime difficult to detect.
I urge anyone who receives a package which they have not ordered, or has suspicious people calling at their front doors, to check with their banks or the phone company involved and report any offences to the police.
Fraudsters often attempt to or succeed in setting up false bank accounts in the names of their victims as part of the fraud, so I urge people to keep an eye on their accounts and report anything suspicious.
For more information about fraud, click here: https:///www.kent.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/door-to-door-courier-fraud/
