In somewhat of a first for the United Kingdom, Police in the City of London area last week reported that they had arrested two men in connection with the investigation of an “illegitimate telephone mast” and antenna that is believed to have been setup for the purpose of acting as an “SMS blaster”.
For the uninitiated, Smishing (aka – SMS Phishing) describes a text message that attempts to trick people into divulging personal information. Smishing texts are often designed to look authentic and may even appear in a chain of texts alongside genuine messages, but despite this such messages will contain links to fake websites or dodgy phone numbers (follow these and you’ll end up giving away sensitive personal data to fraudsters).
In this case, the “mast” in question above is believed to have been used to send “thousands of smishing messages“, posing as banks and other official organisations, to members of the public. The approach taken was unique in that it was designed to “bypass mobile phone networks’ systems in place to block suspicious text messages.”
We’re just speculating, but it sounds like a type of attack that may have only been able to target those who passed within range of the mounted antenna, although the exact means of how they set this all up has naturally not been disclosed.
David Vint, Temporary Detective Chief Inspector and Head of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), said:
“The criminals committing these types of crimes are only getting smarter, working in more complex ways to trick unknowing members of the public and steal whatever they can get their hands on. It is vital we work with partners to help prevent the public from falling victim to fraud.
Remember, a bank or another official authority will not ask you to share personal information over text or phone. If you think you have received a fraudulent text message, report it by forwarding it to 7726.”
In this case a combined effort by the police, mobile operators, Ofcom and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) ultimately resulted in an arrest on 9th May in Manchester and another one on 23rd May in London. As a result, Huayong Xu, 32, of Alton Road, Croydon was charged on 23rd May with possession of articles for use in fraud and was remanded in custody. He will appear at Inner London Crown Court on 26th June 2024. The other arrested person has been bailed.