Cousins Sentenced to Prison for Committing Identity and Phone Fraud in Pursuit of Quick Cash

Two scammers seized an opportunity to earn quick cash by getting involved in a scheme that tricked telco customers into giving personal information to order phones they never actually received.

Dilpreet and Manjinder Singh were roped in by the masterminds of the scam, offering an essential service for the syndicate, as per the court proceedings.

Following their guilty pleas for fraud, attempted fraud, and identity theft, the cousins have been sentenced to six months in prison by the Brisbane District Court on June 21.

Members of the syndicate posed as employees of Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone, cold-calling customers with enticing offers for new devices at discounted rates.

By having customer information like tenure with the telco, the imposters appeared credible while extracting additional personal details during the calls.

The scammers used the obtained customer details to make online purchases of devices at full price, rather than the promised discounted price.

Drivers like Dilpreet, 27, working for StarTrack, would pick up the phones under the guise of delivering parcels to locations in their working area.

These drivers were part of the scam, entering identification details provided by the fraudsters into a scanner to falsely indicate that the devices were delivered.

Manjinder, 33, along with his cousin, coordinated packages, supervised the interception of deliveries, recruited drivers, while other members made the fraudulent calls to customers.

During their involvement in the fraud, the phone companies suffered losses of approximately $214,000 (US$143,000) worth of devices, with an additional $88,000 (US$58,000) in orders canceled before delivery.

Judge Carl Heaton noted that Manjinder and Dilpreet understood the dishonest nature of the scheme and agreed to participate, satisfied that it did not involve drug trafficking.

They were enticed with payments ranging from $200 (US$133) to $300 (US$200) per parcel, based on the value of the device inside.

Manjinder managed a bank account that received $40,000 (US$26,600) over eight months in 2021, shared among him, Dilpreet, and the recruited drivers.

The scam was unraveled after StarTrack managers noticed a surge in missing parcels in the areas where Dilpreet and his accomplices operated.

Evidence of the fraud was found in delivery details and packages on Dilpreet’s phone.

Judge Heaton acknowledged that the men were recruited by others but emphasized that their actions were not spur-of-the-moment decisions.

He denounced their prolonged, deliberate involvement in dishonest activities with severe repercussions for others.

Ultimately, the men were sentenced to three years in prison, with a release after serving six months and the remainder of the term suspended for four years.