Brisbane man charged with hundreds of identity fraud offences
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
Police have charged a man over an alleged two-year run of identity fraud that had hundreds of victims, some of whom did not know they’d been targeted.
The 30-year-old from Pallara, in Brisbane’s south, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with more than 300 offences.
The arrest followed a ten-month investigation by Acacia Ridge detectives.
The 10-month investigation uncovered what will be alleged was a protracted course of fraudulent conduct involving hundreds of victims, some of whom were not aware they were victims of crime until notified by police.
Police said the man allegedly possessed identification information belonging to at least 160 people, including images of their driver licences, passports, birth certificates, and Medicare cards.
It’s alleged the man threatened victims of the frauds who attempted to regain control of their online identities after they had been hacked.
Detective Senior Sergeant, Justin Anderson, said police seized electronic devices during the execution of a search warrant at a Pallara home in December last year.
“Subsequent analysis of the devices revealed the extent of the alleged offending including copies of messages where threats to murder two victims were allegedly made.
“Another victim allegedly threatened that their identification information would be published online if they did not pay money.”
Sergeant Anderson said it will be alleged the seized devices contained more than 1,500 passwords associated with online identities, enabling access to bank and social media accounts.
“After taking over victim’s accounts it will be alleged that online purchases for products, paid for from the victims’ accounts, were made, as well as fraudulently lodging tax returns in the names of 12 victims and connecting mobile phone accounts in the names of 46 people.
“This extensive investigation involved liaison with interstate police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre as the alleged offender’s activities involved victims across numerous Australian states and territories including Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria.
“Cybercrime has far-reaching impacts on individuals and the community. It causes significant angst to victims, but there are support agencies available which can provide appropriate advice, such as IDCare.
“We are urging anyone who suspects they may be a victim of any sort of cybercrime to report it via the Australian Government’s ReportCyber website.”
The man was remanded in custody and was due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
