Types of Telecommunications Fraud

At Stumar Investigations, we handle various types of telecommunications fraud, including:

Handset Trafficking: Handset Trafficking is the fraudulent procurement and illegal resale of cellular devices on the secondary market. Fraudsters often use deceptive tactics to obtain legitimate products to traffic, such as identity theft, romance scams, credit muling, social engineering, and warehouse theft. SIM swapping has also become pervasive amongst fraudsters, whereby they illegally obtain the personal information necessary to port numbers off of a carriers' network. And, in doing so, gain access to personal bank and social media accounts, amongst other valuable data, stored on a SIM card.

Cable Signal Theft: Cable Signal Theft is the fraudulent procurement and illegal resale of modified cable and internet equipment on the secondary market. Fraudsters often obtain the signal to cable/internet equipment under false pretenses and enable features, such as premium channels and faster internet speeds, at the cost of the customer and/or the provider. Typically, these ruses are elaborate and involve stolen identities of living and deceased persons to access account-specific information.

How We Investigate Telecommunications Fraud

Our Telecommunications services include:  

Undercover Operations – At Stumar, we conduct discreet undercover operations to obtain the most up-to-date information and latest methods used by fraudsters. Our investigators are trained to identify the source of the fraud and track down the various resale points to recover the property.  

Criminal & Civil Enforcement – We liaise with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, District Attorney's offices, State and Local law enforcement in the pursuit of all involved in a telecommunications fraud scheme on behalf of our clients.

Surface & Deep Web Canvassing – Aside from monitoring the surface web that is easily accessible to everyone, our expert investigators can monitor the deep and dark web, searching for instances where cellular handsets and cable/internet equipment are illegally tampered with and offered for resale. 

Surveillance – Our dedicated team of field agents utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and proven covert techniques to obtain the highest quality video and documentary evidence. 

Litigation Support - We assist an attorney's efforts in pursuing legal action against fraudsters in the telecommunications space, gathering all the information, evidence, and documentation needed to make your case as strong as possible. Such efforts may include, but are not limited to:

• Background & Social Media Investigations

• Statements and Interviews

• Knock and Talks

• Asset Investigations

• Locating Witnesses

• Expert Testimony