Phillip Lam, a 31-year-old man originally from Dingle, a district that lies within the southern suburbs of Liverpool, became the focus of a multinational pursuit. By late November, another fugitive was reported to be on the run on the Costa del Sol. It was about 2:30 in the morning in Marbella when Local Police intercepted an incident connected to the car Lam was driving. Law enforcement officials identified the individual and confirmed a significant warrant in his name. The databases indicated a man who stood just over five feet tall, with a strong build and a somewhat gruff demeanor, facing arrest on an outstanding British warrant. Lam reportedly resisted apprehension.
Police, who had already faced budget cuts, confirmed that the British justice system has been seeking Lam since March 9, 2021, the date he was due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court to be informed of his sentence for a fraud case involving a large sum of money. Lam disappeared, yet his absence did not shield him from accountability. The case involved four years and nine months of imprisonment for stealing the payment details of more than a thousand credit card users in the United Kingdom and the United States. This allowed him to withdraw more than a million pounds in what authorities described as a calculated fraud operation. Merseyside police noted that Lam and his associate Steven Noone, who local media in Liverpool have dubbed contributors to a WhatsApp scam network, allegedly spent over one million pounds using stolen card codes. (1,136,300 euros).
credit cards
The investigation revealed that the accused actively traded in stolen cards and executed purchases on behalf of other individuals. Searches of Lam and Noone’s homes uncovered devices that showed they were buying goods or services for later resale to those who contacted them. Their schemes reportedly used messaging platforms and social networks where they advertised discounted travel packages and other products that had already been charged to stolen cards. The inquiry began after complaints from Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which sounded alarms when more than twenty flights were booked online between May and September 2016 without the knowledge or consent of the cardholders who were billed.
The impact of the victims was widespread. Some victims did not consent to the operations, others purchased holidays in good faith, and the airlines and hotels involved faced losses. In Lam’s case, authorities say his illicit gains supported a lavish lifestyle, including international family travel and funds funneled into bitcoin-related activities and gambling accounts, according to police reports.