Toronto Police say they have arrested 10 people and laid more than 100 charges in a wide-reaching SIM swap scam.
Investigators say more than 1,500 cellular accounts throughout Canada were compromised, resulting in more than $1 million in combined losses to victims, telecom companies and financial institutions.
Det. David Coffey of the Financial Crimes Unit says the SIM swap scam targets a weakness in two-factor authentication to take over an unsuspecting victim’s cellphone account, either by impersonating the customer at a cellphone store or otherwise tricking a mobile carrier into switching the victim’s phone number to another SIM card.
Once criminals gain access to an account, they can receive emails and texts about password recovery or changes and use that to compromise the victim’s bank accounts or social media profiles.
Coffey says police seized more than 400 pieces of fake identification after search warrants were executed as part of the investigation dubbed “Project Disrupt,” which began in June 2023.
Two additional suspects are on the run, and police are asking anyone with information that might lead to their arrests to come forward.
ARRESTS AND CHARGES
The following two suspects are still wanted by police in connection with this investigation:
Nadia Campitelli, 47, of Toronto, is wanted for:
Three counts of Fraud Over $5000
Fraud Under $5000
Intercept Private Communications
Breach of Probation
Hervine Umutijima, 26, of Toronto, is wanted for:
Mischief to Computer Data
Attempt Fraud Under
Personation with Intent
Identity Theft
Use a Forged Document
Seven counts of Fraud Under $5000
The following individuals have been arrested and are currently before the courts:
Noah Ibgui, 24, of Toronto, is charged with:
Fraud Over $5000
Intercept Private Communication
Fraudulently Obtain Computer Service
Mischief to Computer Data
Syed Shan, 23, of Brampton, is charged with:
Fraud Over $5000
Intercept Private Communication
Unauthorized Use of a Computer
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Syed Hunain, 22, of Brampton, is charged with:
Two counts of Fraud Over $5000
Intercept Private Communication
Unauthorized Use of a Computer
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Waseem Abbas, 18, of Brampton, is charged with:
Fraud Over $5000
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Ounali Hussain, 23, of Mississauga, is charged with:
Fraud Over $5000
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Huzaifa Motala, 20, of Toronto, is charged with:
Two counts of Fraud Over $5000
Public Mischief
Brandon D’Amico, 21, of Toronto, is charged with:
Eighteen counts of Personation with Intent
Eighteen counts of Possess Identity Information for Fraudulent Purpose
Eighteen counts Intercept Private Communications
Fraud Under $5000
Four counts of Possess Counterfeit Mark
Maria Aguja, 19, of Toronto, is charged with:
Eight counts of Personation with Intent
Eight counts of Possess Identity Information for Fraudulent Purpose
Eight counts Intercept Private Communications
Muhammad Ibrahim, 20, of Winnipeg, is charged with:
Fraud Over $5000
Public Mischief
Owais Varachhia, 24, of Toronto, is charged with:
Three counts of Fraud Over $5000