Serious Crime Prevention Order issued to Sussex man D-38 freeware 0 11:39

Filename	Serious Crime Prevention Order issued to Sussex man
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Serious Crime Prevention Order issued to Sussex man

A Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) has been served on an offender in Sussex, the first time such an Order has been sought by Sussex Police.


23-year old Alastair Peckover, now known as William Graeme Peckover, of Sheppey Close, Broadfield, Crawley, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Friday 20 July, and was served with the SCPO lasting five years, a Financial Reporting Order, and a Confiscation Order under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) requiring him to pay back £47,000 of criminal profits within the next six months.


Peckover had been convicted, three times in just three years, of complex Internet-based hacking frauds against on-line betting companies, in some of which he also defrauded individuals, and also used the identities of several to carry out the betting frauds.


Using sophisticated computer programmes, some of which he wrote himself, Peckover was able to remotely view files that another computer user was viewing, without their knowledge or consent. Using this method, he could look through anything on another's computer and take use data he chose.


The SCPO places stringent conditions on Peckover's financial activity. These include; using only his real names; having no more than £1000 cash at any one time; limits on the number of accounts he may have; and limits on his access to computers and other electronic equipment. In detail, he will be required to be;


- known only by his official name - William Graeme Peckover - born 01/05/1989;
- restricted to have no more than £1000 in cash on him at any one time;
- restricted to have no more than one current account, one savings account and one mortgage account - of which police will have details;
- restricted to not have any digital currency (ie; E-Gold, Gold Money, Web Money etc)
- restricted to have no more than one personal computer, one Internet-accessible mobile phone, one gaming device, one modem and one other device. He is to supply all details of these items to Police including ISP numbers and serial numbers.
- restricted to have no more than one email account, of which we are to have details of (not passwords). This email address must be registered to his name and hosted by the domain name of his Internet Service Provider. He is also to close any other outstanding accounts and pass details of these to Police (not passwords)
- restricted to inform Police of any address change other than that of his parents.


In order to help ensure he complies, the Financial Reporting Order (FRO) requires him to supply details of his financial status to the police every four months for the next ten years.


In June 2009 Peckover had been sentenced at Hove Crown Court to 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after admitting hacking into the systems of an on-line spread betting company to obtain £39,000.


In June the following year he was back in court, at Southend Crown Court, to be sentenced to 20 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to similar frauds from which he obtained thousands of pounds, some of which he spent on a Porcshe sports car, expensive watches, and more than £30,000 of gold bullion. As part of his scheme he hacked into email identities of members of the public to use their identities, and defrauded them out of their money


He was subsequently served with a POCA order requiring him to pay back £124,000, which has mostly been paid back.


Then, at Lewes Crown Court in November last year, he was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment for yet further frauds against on-line betting companies in which he obtained more than £33,000, again using false identities to help obtain money.


At that hearing the judge ordered that arrangements should be made for the confiscation, SCPO and FRO to be submitted.


Detective Constable Des Hamilton, of the Sussex Police Major Fraud Unit, said; "This is a tragic case. Alastair, time and again, has neglected to use his obvious technical talents for more honest activity. Over the course of three years, he has continued to manipulate computers to steal identities and commit fraud, mostly to feed his obsessive gambling habit, using other people's money. Computer based crime is not victimless."


"The way he operates, systematically defrauding legitimate on-line businesses and unsuspecting members of the public shows that he is a professional who seems to be completely uncaring about others.


"We hope that this new Order will encourage him to use his skill so that the community can benefit and Alastair can go on to live an honest lifestyle. It is aimed to restrict the things that enabled him to commit these frauds and prevent further crime from being committed by him."


"The message for genuine individual computer users is to routinely check the security you hold on your home computers. Importantly, do not download something unless you are certain that it is safe. This is how these hackers access your computer. Also, and as important, change the passwords you hold periodically, particularly on financial sites and email accounts.


"The message for criminals is that receiving a sentence may not be the end. The police, even beyond your sentence, can use powers that will regain your illicit profits, and will seek new and lawful ways to prevent you offending again."


Detective Chief Inspector Ali Eaton said; "Serious Crime Prevention Orders and Financial Reporting Orders are unusual and stringent weapons in the effort to reduce serious and continued criminality and to protect businesses and local communities. Clearly they are not suitable or relevant for most cases, and the work needed to obtain them is very complex and detailed, needing close co-operation with the Crown Prosecution Service in order to satisfy the requirements of the courts.




"This is first time we have applied for such Orders in Sussex. We are encouraged by our success, which is testament to the hard work of our detectives and expert financial investigators, and we will actively seek opportunities to use this legislation again."