This is an amazing story. A private large-scale illegal wiretapping ring - busted. The ring included cell phone company employees, businessmen, a sports writer, a sports figure, former policemen and others!
Although unusual, it is not unheard of... remember Rupert Murdocks' newsboys' caper last year?
Turkey - Teams from the Istanbul Police Department Organized Crimes Unit decided to take action after receiving over 100 complaints of illegal tapping. After conducting a detailed investigation for over two years, police forces initiated a simultaneous operation in four different districts yesterday morning at 07:00. Two high-level administrators and a staff member of a Global Systems for Mobile Communications Company as well as five well-known businessmen, a sports writer, former national footballer Ridvan Dilmen and six former police officers were amongst the total 26 detained...
According to the allegations, the businessmen detained were claimed to have used the assistance of a telephone tapping organization to listen to other businessmen, and used prior records of messages and conversations to their advantage as extortion. Allegations also surfaced against Ridvan Dilmen that he listened in to former footballer Tanju Çolak due to claims he was interfering in his relationship with his girlfriend. Supposedly, reports of over 100 different telephone calls were found in his e-mail address. Meanwhile, the five businessmen were detained yesterday in connection to allegations they used an illegal tapping organization to track their girlfriends.
Turkey - Teams from the Istanbul Police Department Organized Crimes Unit decided to take action after receiving over 100 complaints of illegal tapping. After conducting a detailed investigation for over two years, police forces initiated a simultaneous operation in four different districts yesterday morning at 07:00. Two high-level administrators and a staff member of a Global Systems for Mobile Communications Company as well as five well-known businessmen, a sports writer, former national footballer Ridvan Dilmen and six former police officers were amongst the total 26 detained...
According to the allegations, the businessmen detained were claimed to have used the assistance of a telephone tapping organization to listen to other businessmen, and used prior records of messages and conversations to their advantage as extortion. Allegations also surfaced against Ridvan Dilmen that he listened in to former footballer Tanju Çolak due to claims he was interfering in his relationship with his girlfriend. Supposedly, reports of over 100 different telephone calls were found in his e-mail address. Meanwhile, the five businessmen were detained yesterday in connection to allegations they used an illegal tapping organization to track their girlfriends.
The telephone tapping organization is claimed to have worked in conjunction with a security company which offers private detective services.
The illegal organization is claimed to have worked with the GSM company administrators that were detained and were able to keep tabs on their victims, by listening in on their phone conversations, sharing their messaging information and by obtaining information from the base station were able to track their locations and times of calls. Supposedly the organization had specific rates for famous figures they conducted this service for, such as 3-5 thousand dollars for one to three months of tracking and 5-15 thousand dollars for three to six months of tracking. (more)
The illegal organization is claimed to have worked with the GSM company administrators that were detained and were able to keep tabs on their victims, by listening in on their phone conversations, sharing their messaging information and by obtaining information from the base station were able to track their locations and times of calls. Supposedly the organization had specific rates for famous figures they conducted this service for, such as 3-5 thousand dollars for one to three months of tracking and 5-15 thousand dollars for three to six months of tracking. (more)
A tip worth repeating... High profile individuals and prominent executives - Hire a reputable specialist to check for bugs, taps and spycams on a regularly scheduled basis. Be sure to investigate your specialist's background and credentials. You really don't want to hire an organized crime "front company" to conduct your sweep.
