Three remanded over massive telephone scame

A NICOSIA court yesterday remanded three men in custody for seven days on suspicion of setting up a telecommunications network that allowed them to bill over £200,000 worth of international calls to a Bank of Cyprus branch, police said.

The case first came to light when the bank’s Telecommunications System mechanic at the Plati branch in Aglandja noted inflated telephone bills that exceeded £215,000 for two of its telephone lines during the months of May and June.

Police said the employee reported that for the month of May the telephone bill for both lines was over £40,000. When the Telecommunication Authority was alerted, the bank discovered that it had been overcharged a total of £175,000 for the month of June as well. The phone line theft continued on into the first two weeks of July as well, but the amount stolen has not yet been estimated.

The calls were traced to a Latsia newsagent’s, where police found a telephone system that allowed it to divert calls from Europe, Canada and America to various countries in Asia, the Far East and North America and to charge to the bank. Over 700 calls were made in this manner, it was reported.

The newsagent, as well as another two men, was arrested in connection with the case.

CyTA general manager Nicos Timotheou explained that the swindle had probably been able to take place due to a weakness in the bank’s telephone system that allowed the suspects to connect to it and make outgoing calls.

Police have alerted Interpol to track down those who used this illegal telephone system and are expected to take 40 statements in connection with the case.