2,000 Olympics Scam Websites Shut Down by Police

The Metropolitan Police’s e-crime Unit (PCeU) identified a large number of websites that were set up to scam individuals who are planning to attend next year’s London Olympics.

According to The Guardian, a total of 2,000 websites were already taken offline, but a few hundred still remain under careful supervision.

Most of the rogue locations are pretending to sell luxury goods and to make everything as realistic as possible, the crooks use a lot of official symbols and trademarks such as the Olympic rings which represent the event’s signature.

“We think there is some evidence to suggest they are waiting to commit fraud,” said Janet Williams, the deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan police.

“These websites have been set up and are in a holding position, and we will monitor them to see if they are used for criminal purposes.”

Other measures taken by law enforcement officials to prevent cybercrime include setting up three satellite hubs in Yorkshire and Humberside and the east Midlands.

“It will be a big step up for us to have a regional capability,” she said. “There will be a small number of people in each hub, and for major events, like the Olympics, we will work together.”

The fact that the Olympics that will take place next year in London may be a good opportunity for fraudsters to launch their operations was foreseen by the authorities a few months ago. At the time, they even published an advisory regarding the schemes that may be set up to offer unsuspecting individuals a place to stay during the event.

In the past couple of months the PCeU has been busy taking down websites that sell counterfeit or fake goods and they don’t plan on stopping here, especially since many criminal organizations have begun moving their activities to the online environment.