Cybercrime detectives have arrested a man and seized £80,000 in cash and high-end goods in Stratford.
The arrest was part of a long-running investigation into the organised ‘smishing’ and hacking of UK banking customers and subsequent laundering of the proceeds.
Officers from the Met’s cyber crime unit raided an address in Stratford late yesterday (June 17) and recovered around £80,000 in cash, five valuable watches and tens of thousands of pounds worth of high-end goods, including new iPhones.
A 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of money laundering offences and remains in custody.
Smishing, or SMS phishing, is when a scammer texts asking for personal or financial information.
The message may appear to be from a legitimate company, like a mobile phone provider.
However, legitimate companies never ask you to provide sensitive information by text.
Police advise anyone who receives a text like this to delete it and not reply.
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