Over 100 arrests made in the UK’s biggest ever fraud operation.

An international one stop spoofing shop has been taken down in the UK’s biggest ever fraud operation, led by the Metropolitan Police.

More than 200,000 potential victims in this country alone have been directly targeted through the fraud website iSpoof.

At one stage, almost 20 people every minute of the day were being contacted by scammers hiding behind false identities using the site.

They posed as representatives of banks including Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, First Direct, Natwest, Nationwide and TSB.

Scotland Yard’s Cyber Crime Unit worked with international law enforcement, including authorities in the US and Ukraine, to dismantle the website this week.

This was a crucial phase in a world-wide operation, which has been running out of the public eye since June 2021, targeting a suspected organised crime group.

iSpoof enabled criminals to appear as if they were calling from banks, tax offices and other official bodies as they attempted to defraud victims.

Victims are believed to have lost tens of millions of pounds while those behind the site earned almost £3.2 million in one 20 month period.

Detective Superintendent Helen Rance, who leads on cyber crime for the Met, said:“By taking down iSpoof we have prevented further offences and stopped fraudsters targeting future victims.

“Our message to criminals who have used this website is we have your details and are working hard to locate you, regardless of where you are.”