Uber driver Hassan Zia Rana’s sophisticated Telstra mobile phone scam spanning two continents uncovered after six years – as he’s jailed and faces deportation: ‘Pure greed’
An Uber driver will spend six years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining $200,000 as part of an elaborate Telstra phone fraud scheme that a judge said was motivated by “pure greed”.
Hassan Zia Rana set up the scam against Telstra customers between April and May 2020, which resulted in more than a hundred iPhones being ordered and delivered to addresses in Mawson Lakes, north Adelaide.
The 25-year-old man, along with his brother in Pakistan, created the elaborate plan to target Telstra customers.
It worked because customers first received a call from a woman telling them she worked for the telecom company.
She then told people the company was offering a discount before asking them for a PIN number sent to their phone.
The woman then asked the customer to read out the PIN from the text message sent to him.
Hassan Zia Rana (pictured) will be jailed for orchestrating an elaborate phone scam targeting Telstra customers, obtaining $200,000 worth of Apple iPhones
At the time, customers could access their online Telstra account using a one-time PIN code sent to the customer via text message.
The PIN would then be used to access a customer’s online Telstra account, allowing Rana to place orders for brand new Apple iPhones.
The phones were then delivered to various addresses in Mawson Lakes and collected by couriers hired by Rana who would deliver the devices to him.
During Rana’s sentencing, the court was told that phones worth $200,000 had been ordered between April and May 2020.
About $83,000 worth of phones have not yet been recovered.
The court also heard evidence from an undercover police officer who was offered $25 by Rana for delivering the phone in a parcel, with a $1,000 bonus if he managed to deliver 150 parcels.
The court heard the 25-year-old was part of the scheme along with his brother, who lives in Pakistan, and hired couriers to deliver to him iPhones ordered through the accounts of unsuspecting Telstra customers.
South Australia police raided Rana’s home (pictured) and found thousands of dollars in cash
Officers from the South Australia Police raided Rana’s property on May 25, 2020 and seized $65,000 in cash.
Rana, a former student who earned a Bachelor of Aviation in 2021, was charged with 20 counts of money laundering after previously denying he was part of the elaborate scheme.
“You gave several statements, most of which were nonsense and almost all of which were lies,” Judge Heath Barklay told Rana in court, as reported by him. Advertiser.
“You were motivated purely by greed.”
Judge Barklay found that Rana worked with his brother to send money to Pakistan via telephone, with Rana also receiving a significant portion of the proceeds.
“You were part of a sophisticated, organized group that actively targeted Telstra and stole large quantities of mobile phones from them,” Judge Barklay said.
Rana admitted during the proceedings that he had been involved in the scheme for six years.
Rana was sentenced to six years in prison with a non-parole period of three years and six months, after which he faces the prospect of deportation back to Pakistan.