£160m Vishing Fraud Trial | Southwark Crown Court

Kangs are instructed in a multi-handed conspiracy to defraud trial that is due to commence at Southwark Crown Court on 9th May 2016. The case is the result of an investigation across England and Wales, and Scotland by a number of police forces. In the 31 months covered by the indictment the total losses attributable to the fraud run beyond £160 million.

The type of fraud concerned has become known as a “vishing” fraud. Such frauds are committed when a bank customer is contacted by telephone by someone purporting to be from their bank, who is in fact a fraudster. The fraudster is equipped with confidential information about that customer’s bank account that has been purchased from corrupt members of staff at that particular bank. In the course of the conversation the bank customer is persuaded to divulge their confidential banking information enabling the fraudster to transfer money from the customer’s account. The money is then moved swiftly from one account to another, then through a pyramid of accounts often totaling in excess of 200 separate bank accounts.

In this case high earning companies were targeted, these included Solicitor’s firms, Estate Agents, Football Clubs, Veterinary Surgeries and Utility Companies. This is the first of the 3 trials due to take place at Southwark Crown Court over the next year.