Internet criminals enjoy the strange new way to target you with fraud texts

Since the macragia works outside the traditional mobile networks, the messages they send are not subject to the security measures that were placed in their place by mobile phone service providers. “None of the security control tools apply to the messages that phones receive from them,” says Anton Reynaldo Bonifacio, the chief information security official and head of the AI ​​company at Globe Telecom. “Once the phones are connected to these fake cell sites, it can convert any identifier or number to send the fraud message.”

In 2022, Globe Telecom made a decision to stop connecting SMS messages containing URL, and Bonifacio says he believes fraudsters use Blasters “to overcome” these measures. “The technology was more convenient, but I think these IMSI mask devices have become more prevalent for criminal organizations,” he says. Researchers I found SMS Blasters is explicitly sold online for thousands of dollars.

Samantha Kate, Head of Industry Security in the Group of Mobile Industry, GSMA, says that the Asia Pacific region is greatly affected by the short story rays so far, but there are cases that appear in Western Europe and South America. “It may be a problem in a region or two, but then we tend to see these things appear in different areas,” says Kate. Reporting Commsrisk and Risk worksSMS distortes used in Thailand, Vietnamand Japanand New ZealandQatar , IndonesiaAmman, Brazil, Hong Kong, and more in recent months. London law enforcement officials say they have seized so far seven SMS nets were sentenced, and in June, a student from China was sentenced prison For more than a year after his arrest using one of the devices.

Kight says that SMS Blasters processing includes telecommunications operators and government organizers who realize devices, law enforcement agencies that take action, as well as people who realize fraud messages and report the relevant authorities. “In our capacity is the manufacture of mobile devices, we want to be able to find this, we want people to trust what is on their devices, and we want to be able to protect it,” says Kate.

Yomna Nasser, an Android software engineer, says people says Stop their phones Contact 2G networks in its settings. “Once you are enabled, your device will not return to the 2G cell towers,” Nasser says, adding that the only exception is if an emergency call is made and there is no 3G, 4G and 5G. Android’s Advanced protection mode It will also disable 2G automatically on some of the latest phones. Apple did not answer a WIRED request to comment by publishing time, although it is Lock It will be disabled 2G Etisalat.

In the end, you may not know whether the SMS amplifiers are used to send a fraud process for you. Ben Hurley, the detective sergeant in the crime unit designated for the card and payment in the city of London, who is investigating the cases locally, says that although delivery is different, the actual fraud itself has not changed. Hunting messages are often designed to click on a harmful link and deliver your personal information. “It is a new way to do the same,” says Hurley. “I have changed how we have to investigate this, but in reality the end result has not been changed,” he says, adding that people should always be cautious against clicking on the links in unknown messages and taking a moment before acting If the message feels suspicious.

As with all electronic crimes, there is an opportunity for those who occupy the plans and noise to develop their tactics. “The actual SMS Blaster devices they use are not relatively developed so far,” MC Daid says, adding that the type of technology was originally from the world of governments, law enforcement and army. If criminals are able to reach the most advanced technology and experience, he says: “This may be the beginning of the cat and mouse game.”