Five people from London have been charged as part of a multi-year investigation into a notorious fraud platform thought to be responsible for millions of scam calls.
The charge list includes conspiracy to supply articles for use in connection with fraud, acquiring, transferring and converting criminal property, and “failure to comply with a notice relating to not providing phone passcodes.”
The arrests relate to Russian Coms, which the National Crime Agency (NCA) described as a “group” but is also the name of a vishing platform used extensively by fraudsters until it was shut down in 2024.
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“The platform, established in 2020, started as a handset and then moved to a web-based application, with both products being marketed and sold. They allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers,” the NCA said in a brief statement on July 13.
“These would often be of financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies with the aim of stealing funds and personal details from victims.”
The five individuals have been identified as Ayoub Sehailia, 28, Zakkaria Sehailia, 30, Usman Din, 30, Denis Ozmus, 29, and 53-year-old Fadila Salem who all hail from different parts of the capital. All five suspects will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 14 2026.
Victims Lose Tens of Millions
In 2024, Russian Coms was thought to have been responsible for over 1.3 million scam calls made to half a million UK phone numbers and many more overseas, over a three-year period.
Marketed through Snapchat, Instagram and Telegram, the cybercrime-as-a-service package sold to fraudsters included “unlimited minutes,” “hold music,” “encrypted phone calls,” “instant handset wipe,” international calls, voice-changing services, and 24/7 support.
The handset version also included several VPN apps enabling users to hide their IP address, and a burner app that instantly wiped the phone after being activated. A six-month contract cost between £1200 ($1600) and £1400 ($1870), depending on collection and delivery.
Victims were tricked by the fake display number into believing the caller was from a trusted organization. The scammer would then typically convince them that their account was subject to fraudulent activity and persuade them to transfer funds to another account to safeguard them.
According to the NCA, fraud accounts for roughly two-fifths (41%) of crime in the UK, with over two-thirds (67%) thought to be cyber-enabled.
Police have registered some successes over the past year or so. In January 2025, three men were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court after pleading guilty to operating a sophisticated scheme that helped fraudsters log in to victims’ bank and telecoms accounts.
The trio ran a site called www.OTP.Agency which charged a monthly subscription fee to fraudsters, helping them to hijack victims’ accounts by bypassing multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Mor recently, Operation Henhouse 5 led to the arrest of over 500 suspects, as well as account freezing orders against £9m ($12m), and seizures of cash and assets worth £18.1m ($24.3m).