Taxi Driver Online

Chesterfield taxi firm loses tens of thousands in cruel cyber attack

Fraudsters targeted a Chesterfield taxi firm to try to blackmail it out of £2,000. The pair of criminals bombarded A-Line Taxis with countless phone calls over a 30-hour period.

Gracia Mwbiti and Ehsen Abdul-Razak threatened the owner that it would not stop until he paid the ransom. All-in-all, it was heard that the firm lost out on tens of thousands of pounds in lost profits.

The men, both 24, were also found to have stolen thousands of compromised bank details to defraud people out of their money.

The offences were also committed while Abdul-Razak was in prison for other offences including drugs. This meant that he coordinated the cyber-attack from inside his cell, possibly using a contraband phone, Derby Crown Court heard.

Mwbiti, of Colne House, Barking, London, and Abdul-Razak, of Strachen Close, Maidstone, Kent, were sent to prison.

Kevin Barry, prosecuting, said: “The offending took place over three years between January 1, 2016 and December 4, 2018.

“The first two counts refer to an incident of blackmail at a taxi firm while the others are of obtaining and using compromised bank details.

“In February 2017, the defendant launched a telephone denial of service (TDOS) attack on A-Line Taxis in Chesterfield.

“They set to blackmail the proprietor, demanding £2,000 to cease the attack. He did not pay.”

Mr Barry explained how the pair purchased equipment that would allow them to repeatedly call the taxi firm day and night for around 30 hours.

This meant that the firm missed important customer calls and bookings and lost reputation due to something entirely out of their control.

The losses are difficult to calculate, but Mr Barry said they could be expected to be in the tens of thousands of pounds.

In a victim personal statement, the owner of A-Line Taxis said it had a large effect on him and his company.

“He feared that his business would be destroyed,” Mr Barry said. “He did not sleep for two nights.”

Both men pleaded guilty to misusing a computer to deny service and blackmail.

They also pleaded guilty to fraud and possessing bank account details to be used in fraudulent activities.

This was because police also found that the pair had access to thousands of compromised bank details over the period.

Matthew Radstone, mitigating for Mwbiti, said: “These offences date back some years now and since the commission of these offences, no further offending has taken place of the same nature.

“He is a man of effective good character, although he has a driving offence in 2017.

“He has undertaken modelling work since then, albeit sporadically, and he has tried to work throughout lockdown.”

David Chadwick, mitigating for Abdul-Razak, said: “The defendant now works as a stone-setter.

“He committed these offences when he was 19 and 20 years old.

“But the offences are of some seriousness and I concede that they will amount to a custodial sentence.”

But Mr Chadwick attempted to reduce his sentence by pointing to excellent references he has received from his work colleagues.

Recorder Kevin Hegarty QC handed Mwbiti 30 months in prison, and Abdul-Razak 34 months.

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IDFIMH

Well I doubt he used semaphore.

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IDFIMH

Blackmailer penniless after costing Derbyshire taxi firm thousands

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... xi-5752159

He made £20,000 from a variety of frauds


Ehsen Abdul-Razak has been sent to prison. Derbyshire police did not have a custody photograph for co-accused Gracia Mbwiti
(Image: Derby Telegraph/Derbyshire Constabulary/Getty Images)

A fraudster who targeted a Derbyshire taxi firm to try to blackmail it out of £2,000 has been jailed and left penniless.

Derby Crown Court heard how Ehsen Abdul-Razak made £20,000 from defrauding the firm and other victims.

But after a thorough investigation of his finances he has none of the cash he heartlessly took, having purchased equipment that would incessantly call the taxi firm and cripple its business.

As such, a judge at a Proceeds of Crime Application hearing ordered the 25-year-old to pay back the nominal sum of just £1.

Judge Jonathan Bennett said: "I find that the benefit figure in this case is £20,000 and I find the defendant's available assets to be nil.

"Therefore I am ordering that £1 be paid within three months and there will be 14 day in default (added to his current sentence)."

The Proceeds of Crime Act (or POCA) allows the police to apply for cash to be seized from criminals who have made their money from ill-gotten gains.

It is typically used after drug dealers have been sentenced and can see criminals forced to sell properties, cars or jewellery that belongs to them to pay the cash back.

The money that is seized is split 50-50 between the police and the Government and is often used to fund community projects.

Importantly, if a convicted criminal comes into money later in life which he or she does not currently have, police can still apply to have that seized.

At his sentencing hearing last September, the same court was told how Abdul-Razak and co-defendant Gracia Mwbiti, bombarded Chesterfield's A-Line Taxis with countless phone calls over a 30-hour period.

The duo threatened the owner that it would not stop until he paid the ransom. All-in-all, it was heard that the firm lost out on tens of thousands of pounds in lost profits.

The men, both then 24, were also found to have stolen thousands of compromised bank details to defraud people out of their money.

The offences were also committed while Abdul-Razak was in prison for other offences including drugs. This meant that he coordinated the cyber-attack from inside his cell, possibly using a contraband phone, Derby Crown Court heard.

Mwbiti, of Colne House, Barking, London, and Abdul-Razak, of Strachen Close, Maidstone, Kent, were sent to prison.

Kevin Barry, prosecuting, said: “The offending took place over three years between January 1, 2016 and December 4, 2018.

“The first two counts refer to an incident of blackmail at a taxi firm while the others are of obtaining and using compromised bank details.

“In February 2017, the defendant launched a telephone denial of service (TDOS) attack on A-Line Taxis in Chesterfield.

“They set to blackmail the proprietor, demanding £2,000 to cease the attack. He did not pay.”

Mr Barry explained how the pair purchased equipment that would allow them to repeatedly call the taxi firm day and night for around 30 hours.

This meant that the firm missed important customer calls and bookings and lost reputation due to something entirely out of their control.

He said the losses were difficult to calculate, but Mr Barry said they could be expected to be in the tens of thousands of pounds.

In a victim personal statement, the owner of A-Line Taxis said it had a large effect on him and his company.

“He feared that his business would be destroyed,” Mr Barry said.

“He did not sleep for two nights.”

Both men pleaded guilty to misusing a computer to deny service and blackmail.

They also pleaded guilty to fraud and possessing bank account details to be used in fraudulent activities.

This was because police also found that the pair had access to thousands of compromised bank details over the period.

Mwbiti was jailed for 30 months and Abdul-Razak 34 months.

It was not said in court if or when POCA proceedings will be instigated against the co-defendant.