Particle.news
Download on the App Store

London Courts Jail Two Over Portable ‘SMS Blaster’ Scams Targeting Commuters

The makeshift devices mimic phone masts to push phishing texts that capture nearby phones’ identifiers.

Overview

  • Inner London Crown Court jailed Kong Ji Chen for 24 weeks after he admitted possessing an SMS blaster used at Victoria station on July 1.
  • Officers found the device in a large green suitcase and later confirmed identical phishing texts had reached their own phones at the scene.
  • Prosecutors said the kit could broadcast bulk messages and harvest IMEI and IMSI identifiers, with control apps found on Chen’s iPhone.
  • In a separate case, Shichao Wang received a one-year sentence for directing a vehicle-mounted blaster operated around central London by accomplice Hua Yong Xu on May 22.
  • British Transport Police credited a commuter tip and cross-agency work with BT, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, the NCSC and Ofcom, and urged the public to report suspicious texts to 7726 and behaviour to 61016.