Ahmad Sarfraz Unveiled as the Criminal Mastermind Behind O2 Customer Service Scam

Ahmad Sarfraz, a Pakistani criminal mastermind, has been unmasked as the leader of a prolific scam factory that targets Brits by posing as O2 customer service representatives. BBC’s Scam Interceptors team managed to catch him with the help of ethical hackers.

O2 provides 34.1 million mobile phone connections, and many vital services rely on its network. It includes more than half of the UK’s police forces, many ambulance and fire services, local councils, and Network Rail.

Ahmad Sarfraz Unveiled as the Criminal Mastermind Behind O2 Customer Service Scam

BBC’s team was continuously watching the activity of scammers to get to know the exact location of their office. One day they got the full address of the office when the scammers ordered their lunch online. The address was of the glamourous Madina Tower business centre, in the Muslimtown district of Lahore.

BBC said in their investigation report, “We reported all of our evidence on Ahmad’s crew to the local police in Lahore, but unfortunately didn’t receive so much as a response. We did, thankfully, manage to catch up with Ahmad Sarfraz on the phone ourselves, when he denied all our allegations.”

The company has said that it is grateful to the BBC’s Scam Interceptors for helping to raise awareness of this scam. The company has also advised customers never to share a one-time code with anyone who has called them unexpectedly.

How the Scam works?

Sarfraz’s gang uses a hit list of UK mobile phone numbers purchased from the black market to identify O2 customers. They then called these customers and offered them fake promotional deals. To unlock the offer, the customer must verify their account by providing their email address and a one-time passcode that is sent to their phone.

Once the scammer has this information, they can log into the customer’s account and change the password and email address. They then order expensive mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches to be delivered to the customer’s home, which the customer is billed for.

The scammers also often tell the victim that they receive a phone upgrade as part of the promotional deal. However, the victim instead received several electronic devices that they did not order. When the victim reported the incorrect parcels to the number left by the scammers, they were given a PO box address to return the phones to. Scammers ran that PO box, which forwarded the devices to the factory in Lahore. The scammers then unboxed and sold those devices.

How to avoid this scam:

• Never share your one-time passcode with anyone, even if they claim to be from O2 or another legitimate company.
• Be wary of any unsolicited phone calls or text messages that offer you a promotional deal.
• If you are unsure whether a call or text message is legitimate. Contact O2 directly using the number on their website.

See Also: Beware of WhatsApp Scams: Tracking the €100 Million Fake Job Offer Network