Connect with us

Published

on

An organised group of criminals based in East Asia have defrauded job seekers in the UK and worldwide after getting a scam app on to both the Google and Apple app stores.

Working with victims who have tried to track down their scammers, Sky News has learnt they were operating from Cambodia, the Philippines and China, despite claiming to be a legitimate business based in the UK.

Using an app called New Century, which described itself as “an e-commerce order negotiation platform with millions of members”, the scammers try to lure people to pay into cryptocurrency and British bank accounts, promising payouts – but those payouts are never delivered.

Users who attempt to withdraw a significant amount of their funds complain these withdrawals are frozen 'in progress' indefinitely
Image:
Users attempting to withdraw funds found them frozen ‘in progress’ indefinitely

Victims locked out of accounts

One victim from outside of the UK who spoke to Sky News explained how he had fallen for the scam by responding to a public message on Facebook after losing work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mamoon Rasheed invested more than £200 into the app but was only ever able to withdraw £30 using the cryptocurrency USDT. Although Mr Rasheed has attempted to withdraw more, the app displayed his withdrawal as “pending” for more than two weeks.

After complaining, Mr Rasheed found that he was locked out of his account, and presented with a “connection failed” message when he tried to log in again. No connection error was encountered when he attempted to register a new account, nor does this error appear when incorrect details are entered at the login screen.

New Century's claimed leadership team (L) and Ogilvy Group's (R)
Image:
New Century’s claimed leadership team (L) and Ogilvy Group’s (R)

Fraudsters using British banks

Sky News has observed more than a dozen business accounts registered with British banks used by the app, which regularly changes which account users are encouraged to deposit funds into.

New Century claimed to be part of British marketing agency the Ogilvy Group, but a spokesperson for Ogilvy told Sky News: “Our agency’s name has been used fraudulently and we are taking action with the relevant authorities.”

According to business registry data collected by Companies House, the businesses behind these accounts have almost all been registered in the UK this year by people who have declared their nationality to be either Chinese or Nepalese.

No contact details exist for these companies other than their registered office addresses. One of them shares this address with a Chinese restaurant in Manchester, while another gave its address as a residential building in east London.

Nobody answered the door when Sky News visited the east London address, where a neighbour described the occupants as Chinese and Pakistani men who worked in construction.

Posts on Facebook indicate users are making thousands of pounds
Image:
Posts on Facebook indicate users are making thousands of pounds

Operated from East Asia

The cryptocurrency addresses that the app has used have received the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of pounds in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the USDT token transferred over both the Ethereum and Tron blockchains.

Different recruiter accounts on Facebook have posted identical messages to groups for job seekers in major British cities, offering opportunities to job seekers to earn “extra income” and inviting victims to contact them using UK mobile numbers.

One member of the community investigating the scam was able to convince the operators of two of these accounts to visit a webpage from which they were able to identify the operators’ IP addresses, finding in both cases that they were connecting from East Asia rather than their stated locations.

New Century's page on Facebook was removed after Sky News flagged it to the company
Image:
New Century’s page on Facebook had more than 30,000 likes and followers

Organised criminal network

Under its own brand and using these recruiter identities, New Century runs multiple WhatsApp accounts to engage with potential victims and has responded to messages at all hours of the day, indicating that there are multiple individuals involved in running the scam.

Sky News has observed recruitment taking place both on Facebook’s main platform as well as in WhatsApp groups.

A spokesperson for Facebook told Sky News: “Our teams have investigated these pages and groups brought to our attention, and have removed any that violate our guidelines.”

A number of accounts and the main New Century page on Facebook, which had more than 30,000 likes and follows, was removed after Sky News shared Ogilvy’s complaint with the social media platform.

The app was uploaded to the App Store under the name 'Claire B Moran'
Image:
The app was uploaded to the App Store under the name ‘Claire B Moran’

App rebranded as scam continues

The app has been available in various forms on both the Google Play and Apple App Store for several months.

A spokesperson for Apple told Sky News the app was removed in June, though we were able to download it in late July. The company declined to comment when asked to clarify this point.

A spokesperson for Google told Sky News they had removed the app, but Sky News was still able to find a version of it on Google Play. The company added that it does not provide statements in individual cases of app removal.

The New Century website and the app have now been taken offline, but the criminals have rebranded the app as “A Platform” and relaunched it, this time claiming to an Amazon subsidiary.

Amazon has confirmed it has no connection to the business.

Continue Reading

World

Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of ‘lying’ about starvation in Gaza

Published

on

By

Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza

Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.

Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.

Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.

Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’, says UN agency chief

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza

Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.

“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”

In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.

The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.

“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.

“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’

In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.

It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.

The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.

MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza

In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.

Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Surgeon claims IDF ‘deliberately’ shooting boys at Gaza aid points
Security shot at Palestinians at Gaza aid centre – ex-guard

It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.

“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”

The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.

“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.

“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.

Continue Reading

World

25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

Published

on

By

25% of young children and pregnant women malnourished in Gaza, charity says, as PM vows to fly critical medical cases to UK

A charity has warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing to evacuate children who need “critical medical assistance” to the UK.

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels – with patients and healthcare workers both fighting to survive.

It claimed that, at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks – and described the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The charity also criticised the high number of fatalities seen at aid distribution sites, with one British surgeon accusing IDF soldiers of shooting civilians “almost like a game of target practice”.

MSF’s deputy medical coordinator in Gaza, Dr Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, said: “Those who go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s food distributions know that they have the same chance of receiving a sack of flour as they do of leaving with a bullet in their head.”

The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food – the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the GHF.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Many more deaths unless Israelis allow food in’

In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.

The GHF has also previously disputed that these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”

Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and has accused the UN of failing to distribute it, in what the foreign ministry has labelled as “a deliberate ploy” to defame the country.

‘Humanitarian catastrophe must end’

In a video message posted on X late last night, Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes in Gaza as “appalling” and “unrelenting” – and said “the images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying”.

The prime minister added: “The denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable, just as the continued captivity of hostages is completely unjustifiable.

“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it must end.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Israeli military show aid waiting inside Gaza

Sir Keir confirmed that the British government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance, so they can be brought to the UK for specialist treatment.

Israel has now said that foreign countries will be able to airdrop aid into Gaza. While the PM says the UK will now “do everything we can” to get supplies in via this route, he said this decision has come “far too late”.

Read more:
WHO: Gaza faces ‘manmade’ starvation
UN: People in Gaza ‘walking corpses’

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Last year, the RAF dropped aid into Gaza, but humanitarian organisations warned it wasn’t enough and was potentially dangerous. In March 2024, five people were killed when an aid parachute failed and supplies fell on them.

For now, Sir Keir has rejected calls to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and recognise a Palestinian state despite more than 220 MPs signing a cross-party letter to demand he takes this step.

The prime minister is instead demanding a ceasefire and “lasting peace” – and says he will only consider an independent state as part of a negotiated peace deal.

Continue Reading

World

Israel allows foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza

Published

on

By

Israel allows foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza

Israel has said foreign countries can drop aid into Gaza from today.

A senior IDF official told Sky News on Friday: “Starting today, Israel will allow foreign countries to parachute aid into Gaza.

“Starting this afternoon, the WCK organisation began reactivating its kitchens.”

Humanitarian aid organisation World Central Kitchen paused its operation in Gaza in November after a number of its workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike last year.

Aid workers in Gaza – who help provide food, medicine and shelter for the millions displaced there – have been affected by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In recent weeks hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food and aid.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

More from World

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Trending