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Friday, March 29, 2024

Pair jailed over SMS phishing scam

Two men – aged 51 and 37 – have been jailed over an SMS scam that targeted Australian mobile numbers with millions of phishing messages.

Operation Genmaicha was launched in June 2019 after the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police arrested a 27-year-old Bendigo man for various telephone-based offences, hacking and financial phishing offences.

Information uncovered during the investigation and search warrant linked the man to an Australian cybercrime syndicate.

Investigators from the AFP Cybercrime Investigations and NSW Police Force Cybercrime Command identified key players in the syndicate and executed a number of search warrants across Sydney.

Several simboxes – devices to enable multiple messages from multiple phone numbers to be sent quickly – were seized during the search warrants, as were thousands of dollars in cash, fake drivers’ licenses, several mobile phones and a small quantity of methamphetamine.

A 37-year-old Burwood man and 51-year-old Macquarie Park man were arrested in September 2020 and pleaded guilty in November last year.

AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations, Chris Goldsmid said international and domestic syndicates continued to target Australians with spoofed phone numbers and cautioned members of the public against clicking on links from unknown numbers.

“Some of these syndicates are professional groups and the messages can look like they’re coming from legitimate numbers associated with financial institutions. If you receive a message out of the blue asking you to follow a link, the safest thing to do is delete the message and contact your financial institution directly,” Commander Goldsmid said.

“Be mindful of messages that convey a sense of urgency and if you are worried, contact your bank directly with numbers provided on their legitimate websites.”

NSW Police Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft, said the arrests were an excellent example of Federal and State law enforcement bodies working together.

“Cyber criminals need to be aware that law enforcement agencies are regularly collaborating and responding to emerging issues, which translates to increased arrests and charges for those that facilitate online crime,” Det Supt Craft said.

The 37-year-old man was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment, while the 51-year-old man was sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment.

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