Five alleged fraudsters arrested after National Day of Action against SIM box fraud
The Australian Federal Police has coordinated a number of state police forces in a nationwide operation against large-scale phishing campaigns.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has revealed its role in the National Day of Action against fraudsters allegedly involved in large-scale SIM box operations.
On 18 July, the AFP Joint Police Cybercrime Coordination Center helped coordinate actions between the New South Wales Police Force, the Western Australian Police Force, Tasmania Police, the Victoria, the Queensland Police Service and AUSTRAC, leading to the arrest of five people.
Three suspected fraudsters were arrested in New South Wales and two people were arrested in Victoria to proceed by summons. The offenses include using network-connected equipment to commit a serious crime, dishonestly obtaining/dealing with personal financial information, tampering with evidence with the intent to deceive the court of law, and failing to comply with an order for access to digital evidence. .
A total of six search warrants were executed in the suburbs of both states and more than 40 SIM boxes (devices used to send phishing SMS messages to large numbers of potential victims) were seized.
“Criminals will send millions of misleading text messages to Australian mobile users, casting a wide net across the community in an attempt to trap and defraud as many victims as possible,” AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Stainton said. , in a statement.
“If not disrupted by police action, the SIM boxes had a combined potential to continue distributing between 4 and 6 million fraudulent messages each day.
“The AFP will not tolerate the exploitation of Australians, especially victims who have had their personal data stolen, and is working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to root out criminal exploitation of SIM boxes across the country.” .
“We encourage people to protect themselves against phishing scams by carefully reviewing emails or text messages before clicking on any links. If you believe you are a victim of a phishing scam, please report it to police via the report button at www.cyber.gov.au.
“There is virtually no legitimate reason to have a SIM box at home. We encourage anyone, whether a landlord carrying out an inspection at a rental property or a guest visiting someone’s home, if they see a SIM box to report it to the police.
“If you work in retail and someone comes in buying hundreds of SIM cards or dozens of mobile phones, report it to your management and the police.”
NSW Police Force cybercrime squad commander Detective Superintendent Matt Craft praised the work of the Police Joint Cybercrime Coordination Centre.
“The JPC3 encourages a collaborative approach when it comes to law enforcement, and New South Wales Police has worked closely with national and state agencies in a bid to disrupt and prevent the use of SIM boxes across the country.” Superintendent Craft said.
