NSW Cybercrime Squad Puts Paid to Smishing Campaign | Blog entry by Les Bell

Blog entry by Les Bell

Anyone in the world

We've all received them - those not-very-clever text messages, 'apparently' from a toll road tag operator or similar, warning that the tag account has run out of funds and needs to be topped up. I say, 'apparently', because to most of us they're very apparently not genuine - but it seems enough people fall for them to make it profitable for the operators, as they damn things just kept coming.

A cellphone modem box used for smishing scams.

A SIM box containing multiple SIM's and cellphone modems, used for smishing (Wikimedia Commons)

But we should see a sharp decline, following an operation by the NSW Police Cybercrime Squad, who set up a strike force to investigate a syndicate allegedly responsible for sending over 80 million fraudulent messages (given Australia's population of 25 million, that represents over-saturation) over 5 months.

Around 6 am on Thursday 15th Feb, the NSW Police's Public Order & Riot Squad assisted Strike Force Kanbi detectives in executing search warrants at two Sydney apartments. In one, police arrested two men, aged 37 and 43, and located three large SIM boxes along with "a number" of SIM cards. In another nearby apartment, they arrested a 35-year-old man and located a large amount of identity information, SIM cards, eight mobile phones and some cannabis.

The strike force detectives were assisted by local telcos, using their information to locate these SIM boxes and then plan their dawn raids.

At Burwood police station, the men were all charged with 'use equipment connected to network to commit serious offence' under section 474.14(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and 'deal with identity info to commit an indictable offence' under Section 192J of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. The younger man faces an additional charge of possessing a prohibited drug.

The men were refused bail and appeared in the Burwood Local Court the following morning. They were formally refused bail and remanded to reappear in the same court on Friday 1 March. I dare say the police forensics unit will be taking a close look at any and all seized devices to gather further information about this group and their activities - which could lead to a prolonged trial.

NSW Police, Three men charged over alleged SMS phishing scam responsible for sending over 80 million fraudulent texts, news release, 26 February 2024. Available online at https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/news_article?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGZWJpenByZC5wb2xpY2UubnN3Lmdvdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGMTEwNjMzLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Use Telecommunications Network with Intent to Commit Serious Offence, web page, 21 August 2023. Available online at https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/legislation/criminal-code-act/use-telecommunications-network-with-intent-to-commit-serious-offence/.

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