I don't normally have the TV on during the day but I was copying a
recording to DVD earlier and so saw the programme that BBC does about
trapping scammers.

Very clever being able to intercept scammers in one country scamming
someone in a different country and being able to disconnect them.

They were listening to the telephone calls that the scammers were
making, I presume they can only do this on digital calls and not
conventional landline calls?

Rather worrying though because if they can do it them does that not mean
the wonder digital calling that we are being moved to, like it or not,
is insecure.

DOCUMENTARY: Scam Interceptors
On: BBC One Scotland HD
Date: Thursday 11th May 2023 (Already shown)
Time: 10:00 to 10:45 (45 minutes long)

Rav Wilding and YouTuber Jim Browning join forces with ethical hackers
to hunt down cyber criminals. Using the same remote-access technology
that criminals use to scam their victims, the team hacks the hackers and
monitors their operation.
(High Definition, Subtitles, Widescreen, New Episode, Series 2, Episode 9)

Starring: Rav Wilding, Jim Browning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marked By: 'Category: Documentary' marker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from
http://www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=7346

Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

MB <MB@nospam.net> wrote:
> They were listening to the telephone calls that the scammers were
> making, I presume they can only do this on digital calls and not
> conventional landline calls?

The scammers use wholesale VOIP platforms to make their huge volumes of
robocalls. Those cost fractions of a cent per call, rather than the rather
higher prices charged by landlines (in India or elsewhere).

The scambaiters first hack into the scammers' PCs by first calling the scam
call centre and waiting for the scammer to connect to their PC to 'fix their
Windows' (or whatever) using remote access software (Logmein etc). They
then use a feature of the software to reverse the connection and connect to
the scammer's PC.

On the scammer's PC is the control panel for the VOIP software, which the
scambaiter then configures to save call recordings and then send them
somewhere they can access.

In other words, they never hack into the VOIP platform, they use the
legitimate access afforded by using the scammer's PC logged into the VOIP
platform (and/or their login credentials).

> Rather worrying though because if they can do it them does that not mean
> the wonder digital calling that we are being moved to, like it or not,
> is insecure.

If you're running a scam call centre using bottom-scraping Indian wholesale
VOIP providers, then I might be worried. If not, there is really not much
comparison between that and BT/etc digital landlines.

Theo

Thanks for that explanation - I'd been wondering how it was done.

Is it technically illegal?

Murmansk <stainburn@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for that explanation - I'd been wondering how it was done.
>
> Is it technically illegal?

Probably, although the scammers would have to contact the UK police to press
charges - and they're not going to do that.

(there was a thread about this question recently in uk.legal.moderated)

Theo