A man has been arrested and charged over his role in an alleged massive phishing scam that bombarded Aussies with 17 million fraudulent texts pretending to be from Australia Post or Linkt.
Detectives arrested the man, 36, at his Moorebank property in Sydney’s southwest on Tuesday after executing a search warrant at the home about 6am that same morning.
During their search, police allegedly located two subscriber identity module (SIM) boxes, SIM cards, and electronics they allege are consistent with running a fraudulent text message scam.
Police footage captured the man being led out to a waiting paddy wagon while police examined the alleged devices seized.
SIM boxes are devices used to send bulk text messages across Australia’s telco network, containing fraudulent links.
Police allege the man was responsible for sending 17 million scam texts pertaining to be from companies such Australia Post and Linkt.
It’s alleged the messages contained fraudulent links directing people to an illegitimate website for the purpose of financial gain.
The items were seized to undergo further forensic examination.
The man was charged with use equipment connected to network to commit serious offence.
He was granted conditional bail to appear before Liverpool Local Court on January 17 next year.
Cybercrime squad commander Detective Acting Superintendent Jason Smith said consumers should be wary of SMS phishing scams in the lead-up to Christmas.
“As we enter the final lead-up to Christmas, a lot of people will be expecting online deliveries, but under no circumstances should you ever click on a link you receive in an SMS message or email,” he said.
“Legitimate businesses will never call or SMS customers seeking confidential information. Always be suspicious when you receive such requests.”