A man, aged 37, was arrested on suspicion of fraud and remains in police custody ahead of being questioned.
Officer from the forces’ Economic Crime Unit officers conducted warrants at four addresses in Oldham this morning as part of an on-going investigation into mobile phone fraud.
Police say victims were being called from someone who claimed to be from their mobile network provider who persuaded them to upgrade their phone contract which then lead to the victims to believe that they would be entitled to an upgraded mobile phone.
The victims receive a new phone, but not the latest model as they expected.
When victims called back to explain that they had an unexpected delivery, they were then told to send it on to another ‘returns’ address. These addresses are believed to be a “mule addresses” and their main aim is to keep hold of the devices before passing it on in the criminal network.
It is believed that some of the suspected stolen phones end up out of the country.
