Victim rang Spark for internet help, 30 minutes later a scammer rang back

Two victims lost thousands of dollars each to Aman Kumar through a phone scam. Photo / 123rf

A cyber-criminal who was part of an apparent fraudulent ring accessing victims’ devices by posing as Spark Broadband employees has been sentenced for his role in the elaborate scam.

Auckland beneficiary Aman Kumar was part of a wider network targeting victims who were having issues with their internet connection, the Whangārei District Court heard today.

The 25-year-old from Waterview was found guilty at a jury trial in the Auckland District Court last year on two charges of theft over $1000 for the offending that occurred in 2021.

On October 16 that year, a victim received a phone call from an unknown man stating he was a Spark representative and calling to fix her internet, the court heard.

During the conversation, the male voice manipulated the victim into downloading an app on her tablet and providing passwords to her bank accounts.

Later that day the man called back and remotely controlled her tablet, successfully transferring $4800 to Kumar’s bank account.

On the same day, another victim called Spark to get help with her internet and was advised a member would call her back.

Thirty minutes later she received a call from an unknown number and, after a 20-minute conversation, was also convinced to download an app.

Later that day $3900 was transferred, once again, to Kumar’s bank account.

Three days later, three men were caught on CCTV at Sky City Casinos withdrawing $4800 from Kumar’s bank account. However, Kumar was not one of the three men in the CCTV images.

Judge Keith De Ridder said scamming people's bank accounts was becoming increasingly prevalent. Photo / 123rf

During sentencing today for the thefts, Kumar’s lawyer, Timothy Leighton, told Judge Keith De Ridder his client was remorseful.

“He got himself into a situation where he was being used by others,” Leighton said.

The police investigation was unable to establish whether Kumar was the person making the phone calls, however, Judge De Ridder did not accept Kumar was any less culpable.

“This money went into your account and three unidentified people are seen withdrawing money from your account,” Judge De Ridder said.

“They could only do this if you provided the account to them. Any suggestion you had a limited role is unsustainable. This was a moderately sophisticated operation you benefited from,” he said.

“You were part of a group involved in this escapade in respect of both incidents where money was stolen and went into accounts in your name. Your fingerprints are all over this.”

The judge said Kumar, who appeared via audio-visual link, was reluctant to tell pre-sentence report writers much about the offending so as not to incriminate anyone else.

Both victims managed to recoup some money from their banks however the judge described the significant financial loss they had taken and the emotional effect it had on them.

“This offending is becoming more common and preys on people’s weaknesses of how they manage their computer systems,” Judge De Ridder said.

Kumar was sentenced to six months of community detention, 100 hours of community work, and 12 months of supervision.

He was ordered to pay $2900 reparation to one victim and $2400 to the other.