Two Toronto residents are facing criminal charges after allegedly defrauding hundreds of Canadian victims out of millions of dollars, according to the RCMP.
Federal police say they believe the two used technology to hide their phone numbers, deceiving people into thinking they were speaking with their bank, a government employee or police staff.
Cybercrime investigators raided the suspects’ residence, seizing a “trove” of items including “electronic devices,” police said in a press release. The RCMP says they are aware of 570 victims of the phone scams and hope more will come forward now.
Chakib Mansouri, 29, and Majdouline Alouah, 31, face charges including:
- Fraud
- Unauthorized use of Computer
- Laundering Proceeds of Crime
- Unauthorized Possession of Credit Card Data
- Possessing the Proceeds of Crime
Mansouri and Alouah are believed by police to be among the world’s most active subscribers on a website called “iSpoof.cc,” which allowed criminals to impersonate corporations by displaying a fake caller ID.
Both were arrested and remanded to Maplehurst and Vanier corrections facilities. They’ll appear in a Toronto court remotely on Friday.
According to Statistics Canada, more than 40,000 cybercrimes were reported from January to June 2024. Fraud accounted for 56 per cent of the violations, child pornography accounted for 16 per cent, and harassing and threatening behaviours accounted for 14 per cent, as reported by the police.
