The ‘mastermind’ suspected of being behind a prolific telephone rip-off conning Britons out of their hard-earned money has gone into hiding after being slammed by his household, Mail On-line can reveal.
Ahmad Sarfraz was the boss on the centre of one in every of Pakistan‘s most prolific fraud factories focusing on British households, in accordance with the BBC.
MailOnline has been contained in the crumbling constructing and workplaces of Madina Tower within the Pakistani Punjab capital the place the nation’s anti-corruption officers have raided the decision centres mentioned to have been utilized by Sarfraz.
The alleged fraudster, accused of fleecing unsuspecting Britons in a name centre rip-off, was concerned in a fist struggle with a cousin and enterprise associate after the main focus fell on Sarfraz.
The flash businessman, who’s in his twenties and drives round Lahore in a jeep along with his engaging girlfriend by his aspect, is accused of a cell phone rip-off by pretending to be from 02.
Ahmad Sarfraz, the ‘mastermind’ suspected of being behind a prolific telephone rip-off conning Britons out of their hard-earned money has gone into hiding
The Madina Towers constructing the place the rip-off name centre is allegedly based mostly, which was utterly shut off after being contacted by the BBC
MailOnline has been contained in the crumbling constructing and workplaces of Sarfraz’s former empire
Employees in his rip-off name centre allegedly made calls to UK telephone numbers and posed as customer support employees from the cell phone supplier
Employees in his rip-off name centre allegedly made calls to UK telephone numbers and posed as customer support employees from the cell phone supplier.
The scammers gained entry to clients’ accounts so they may order cell phones price 1000’s of kilos after which promote on.
The allegations towards Sarfraz led to a fist struggle between him and a cousin who was arrested after which freed with out cost.
The cousin, Qasim Naseer, was a enterprise associate and was angered at his detention and lunged at Sarfraz accusing him of destroying their enterprise.
Their workplace at Quantity 508 had been raided by Pakistan’s Federal Investigations Company officers they usually broke the primary gate to the workplaces after employees obtained scared and refused to permit them in.
The officers searched the workplaces and left sealing the doorways barring any re-entry by employees.
When Mr Naseer was launched, he discovered the workplaces closed and employees nowhere to be seen and was concerned in a violent confrontation with the suspected fraudster.
A supply informed Mail On-line: ‘After just a few days when Qasim got here again from FIA custody, individuals inside the opposite workplaces of the plaza noticed a really critical bodily struggle between Qasim and Ahmad.
‘Qasim was heard shouting and blaming Ahmad of destroying and defaming the enterprise by indulging in frauds.
MailOnline went contained in the constructing and photographed a wood door which has a safety bar over it that has been locked
A poster was discovered hung up on the wall on one of many flooring within the constructing
The tower additionally homes on the floor ground retailers promoting curtains fabric and equipment
The smashed entrance door of the workplace which police broke of their raid
The home windows into Sarfraz’s former workplace which have been sealed off
Sarfraz (pictured) has now gone into hiding after being confronted
Cash Mail raised the alarm over the rip-off in April, however a brand new investigation run by Rip-off Interceptors has lifted the lid on the unscrupulous individuals they are saying are behind the con
‘The FIA officers, who’re Authorities law enforcement officials working towards white-collar crime, had locked up the workplaces and sealed them off.’
Madina Tower homes many scrupulous companies concerned in work like offering authorized recommendation and arranging visas for college kids and 250 retailers and clothes retailers. It additionally has residential flooring.
The tower is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore at Ferozpur Street and owned by Haji Liaqat who could be very near the management of Nawaz Sharif’s political occasion Muslim League (N).
The tower additionally homes on the floor ground retailers promoting curtains fabric and equipment.
On the primary ground are furnishings retailers and above within the six-floor constructing are workplaces and household flats.
Different legit companies in Madina Tower admired Sarfraz’s operations, however had been unaware of the frauds suspected of happening.
‘Earlier than this raid, virtually all the opposite occupants of the fifth ground of the tower had been actually very impressed by Sarfraz and his crew.
‘This was as a result of all of them appeared very comfortable and good cash earners’ the constructing supply mentioned.
However the administration of the constructing, which stands at 1200ft excessive, informed MailOnline that nobody aside from Sarfraz’s dozen or so staffers may enter their name centre.
However it’s unlikely that Sarfraz might be returning there because the administration of the tower has been requested to return the safety fee supplied by his enterprise.
The supply added: ‘Sarfraz was residing a really luxurious life and he wore very costly garments, a uncommon watch, had an costly telephone and a sensible 4×4 automobile.
‘He was not an everyday customer to his workplace. A couple of times in every week he used to return to the workplace and now we expect he could have additionally labored from his residence or someplace else.’
Extra doorways are pictured with metallic safety bars throughout them within the constructing
The tower is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore at Ferozpur Street and owned by Haji Liaqat
An commercial poster for a job is plastered on one of many partitions of the constructing
Sarfraz disappeared after the BBC’s fraud-busting present Rip-off Interceptors tracked him down – and confronted him over the telephone. He denied the allegations
It’s thought the suspected conman could have fled to Dubai and gone into hiding
BBC investigators watched remotely as Sarfraz reportedly tried to cowl his tracks by altering the identify and picture of his pretend O2 on-line profile
Madina Tower is is located at a congested enterprise place space of Lahore, Pakistan, at Ferozpur Street
It’s thought the suspected conman could have fled to Dubai and gone into hiding.
Sarfraz disappeared after the BBC’s fraud-busting present Rip-off Interceptors tracked him down – and confronted him over the telephone. He denied the allegations.
Footage confirmed BBC investigators telling him: ‘Why are you pretending to be from O2 and scamming individuals from the UK?
‘Why are you pretending to be from the massive cell phone firms once you’re nothing to do with them?
‘You’re mendacity and you might be scamming individuals and you’ve got been rumbled’.
Investigators watched remotely as scammers allegedly tried to cowl their tracks by altering the identify and picture of the pretend O2 on-line profile.
However the BBC crew didn’t again down, with presenter Rav Wilding saying: ‘Why are you making an attempt to signal out, Ahmad? We all know you will have been breaking the legislation. Why are you scamming individuals out of cash?’
A distorted voice on the opposite aspect of the road informed Wilding he’d obtained the ‘incorrect quantity,’ however Sarfraz was informed ‘this isn’t the incorrect quantity, that is the precise quantity’.
Via a colleague who speaks Punjabi, investigators mentioned they then overheard a panicked Sarfraz telling somebody within the background: ‘I don’t perceive how they obtained my quantity although’.
While Sarfraz denied the BBC’s allegations, the broadcaster mentioned it was clear their name had shaken him and his enterprise.
The busy and lively name centre was utterly shut off following the confrontation and the enterprise is believed to have stopped buying and selling – in the meanwhile a minimum of.
Cash Mail had raised the alarm over the rip-off in April, however a brand new investigation by Rip-off Interceptors lifted the lid on the unscrupulous individuals they are saying are behind the con.
With the assistance of hacker Jim Browning, who works undercover to make use of his know-how expertise, Rip-off Interceptors was capable of break into Sarfraz’s operations and hearken to the Lahore centre’s telephone calls, following their actions for 9 weeks.
Its findings present a unprecedented perception into simply how these alleged criminals function.
Official fraud information, despatched to the Authorities by trade physique UK Finance, reveals that 17 computer of all scams start with a telephone name or textual content — and the losses are huge.
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