German rogue dialler suspects cuffed
Two arrested, two on the run
Posted in Music and Media, 28th January 2005 11:55 GMT
Free whitepaper – Dell solid state disk (SSD) drives
German rogue dialler companies which defraud consumers by secretly changing their computer settings so they can call a premium rate phone line, are increasingly facing the heavy hand of the law.
German police this week arrested two suspects in Paderborn and Riga in another €20m dialler scam. Several other suspects are still on the run.
The men had developed software that secretly dialled out to an expensive 01908 number. The money they earned with the scams were channeled through letterbox companies in the US and Panama. Police say they secured at least €5.6m worth of assets.
Earlier this week, the German Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (Reg TP) said it had blocked the access numbers of no less than 29,531 illegal diallers, all registered with the Berlin-based Intexus, a company that was already on a blacklist.
Related stories
Ireland: auto-diallers under control
US company fined for UK rogue dialler scam
Swiss telco fined £50K for UK rogue dialling action

Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Enabling The Agile Data Center
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit

Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter