An “epidemic” of mobile phone fraud is costing UK telecoms companies potentially hundreds of millions of pounds a year as criminal gangs mass-order handsets only to vanish before paying the bill.
The increasing prevalence of handset fraud, which is estimated to cost the UK telecoms industry more than £200mn each year, has forced telcos such as Virgin Media O2, EE and VodafoneThree to crack down on who they allow to purchase devices. The City of London Police has intensified its efforts to catch the gangs behind the practice.
Instances of the most prevalent scam — known as “mobile dealer” fraud — jumped by 650 per cent to more than 16,000 in the first half of 2025, according to fraud prevention service Cifas.
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