Eight men have been arrested in the UK over a series of sim-swapping attacks on the mobile phones of victims in the US, including well-known musicians, sports stars and influencers.
The National Crime Agency has arrested eight people, aged 18 to 26, in England and Scotland in a joint operation with the FBI, Secret Service, and police forces.
Eight Brits arrested for allegedly hacking phones of US celebrities
NCA crime officers arrested eight suspects following a joint investigation with US agencies including the secret service and the FBI
Sign me up now
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.
Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice
Eight men have been arrested in the UK over a series of sim-swapping attacks on the mobile phones of victims in the US, including well-known musicians, sports stars and influencers.
The fraud sees criminals hijack the target’s phone by deactivating their sim card and switching the number over to a sim controlled by a member of the criminal network.
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
Want Stoke-on-Trent news emailed to you direct from our journalists? Sign up to our newsletterInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.
Subscribe
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.
Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice
Police officers have arrested 28 people as part of a series of county line drug busts across Staffordshire.
Officers say they have safeguarded 14 vulnerable young people who were cuckooed at 33 addresses across the county.
Cuckooing is where drug dealers, often from larger cities such as Birmingham, take over someone s home and use it as a base for their criminal activities.
05:57 EDT, 3 February 2021
Police have busted a suspected £1million county lines drug operation after dealers posed as key workers to fool lockdown patrols.
Couriers allegedly delivered drugs - mostly cocaine - to 2,000 customers across Birmingham and Worcestershire by dressing up as care home staff.
But the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (WMROCU) shut down the hotline.
A 12-gauge self-loading shotgun was recovered as part of the operation and four men - aged 24, 31, 33 and 35 - have been charged with drug offences.
Detectives also fear young people may have been groomed and exploited to supply the drugs - much of it to middle-class customers .