Phones, high heels, zombie knives: what scammers buy with the money they steal

A haul of items seized by police reveals the scale and threat of payment fraud - a crime that can have significant emotional impact on victims.

- Shane Hickey reports

On a shelf between Alexander McQueen shoes, Louis Vuitton handbags and Versace heels in the police evidence room are an 18-inch machete and a serrated zombie knife. Alongside the expensive fashions bought with the proceeds of fraud are the tools needed to achieve it, says DCI Paul Curtis.

"These are serious offenders and for whatever reason they felt the need to have these to protect themselves," he says. Among the other tools are "Sim farms" bought on the dark web, which scammers use to send out numerous text messages at once; stacks of laptops; and mobile phones and payment card readers.

The tools and spoils of crime have come from raids headed by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), whose offices the Observer visited this month. Tasked with uncovering payment fraud across the country and charging the perpetrators, this group of officers from the City of London and Metropolitan police forces are at the forefront of the battle against fraud.

Some of their most recent successes involved scammers who pretended to be bank officials and police officers to defraud people, and a Chinese man who drove around the West End of London sending masses of fake text messages from a machine in his car.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates that 40% of crime is fraud-related; it puts the amount lost every year in the billions. Uncovering the criminals behind payment fraud is an uphill struggle.