Over 26,000 Phishing Messages In One Day: Officers Arrested A Man In Manchester City Centre
After an estimated 26,000 fraudulent text messages were sent in one day, a man was arrested by officers in a hotel in Manchester city centre. Officers found a device in the room that can be used as part of a text message scam that is also known as phishing.
Officers attended to the hotel on Charles Street on 17 June after hotel staff reported suspicious activity. The staff said that a man with a large number of cables in a bag entered the hotel.
The 21-year-old man from Manchester was arrested on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation. He is in custody for questioning. Officers seized electronic equipment and a car as a part of the operation.
Detective Inspector Mark Astbury, of GMP’s City of Manchester Central division, said: “What we have uncovered here are potentially the components of a highly sophisticated and authentic scam that I know many people not just in Greater Manchester but across the country have been potential victims of in recent weeks and months.”
“We have a man in custody and various items of potential evidence that we have seized and this is due to the initiative of the hotel staff, who acted on their suspicions, and the subsequent response from our neighbourhood officers in the city centre.”
