The BBC has held conversations through the messaging app Signal, and learned that although they spoke fluent English, the criminals said it was not their first language and claimed they hired people to make the calls. The criminals said: “We do it for money, not for anything other than money. I'm aware we are criminals. This isn’t my first time and will not be my last time.” They added that they would not be targeting preschools again as the attention had been too great.