Overview

• Coordinated raids in Ilfov, Giurgiu and Calarasi counties and Preston led to the arrest of 14 individuals suspected in the phishing ring.
• The group is accused of stealing £47 million by using phishing tactics to file false tax repayment claims across more than 100,000 HMRC customer accounts.
• Suspects aged 23 to 53 are facing allegations of computer fraud, money laundering and illegal access to government computer systems.
• Police seized large sums of cash, luxury vehicles and electronic devices during the operations in Romania and England.
• HMRC investigators are analyzing seized data and bolstering account security measures to disrupt further fraud and locate additional suspects.