Pakistani man charged in $1m Australian telecom scam

Pakistan national living in New South Wales, Australia, appeared in the Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on 28 November, following charges related to his purported involvement in the unlawful acquisition of personal financial information belonging to over 100 Australians.

This information was allegedly utilized to fraudulently procure numerous high-end mobile devices.

In the suburb of Auburn in western Sydney, investigators from the Australian Federal Police executed a search warrant at a man’s residence yesterday. During the operation, they reportedly uncovered over $1 million in cash, more than 500 SIM cards, and 21 electronic devices, including laptops and mobile phones, which contained credit cards and financial documents.

The man is scheduled to appear in the Sydney Downing Centre Local Court, where it will be alleged that numerous Australian victims of the scam reported receiving calls from an individual claiming to be a representative of a telecommunications service.

READ: Pakistani man arrested for Rs113.9mln fraud with Chinese firm

Furthermore, it is alleged that the perpetrator informed the victims that they were eligible to upgrade their mobile devices and subsequently sent them a one-time PIN for authorization, which was reportedly intercepted by the offender.

Investigators have established a connection between the man and the illicit activities, identifying over 100 victims across Australia.

of personal financial information belonging to over 100 Australians. This information was allegedly utilized to fraudulently obtain numerous high-end mobile services.

The individual was apprehended on Wednesday, November 27, as a result of an investigation conducted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in collaboration with the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3). This investigation involved cooperation between Australian law enforcement agencies and telecommunications companies Optus and TPG Telecom.