Australian police charged a man on Wednesday with sending around 17 million fraudulent text messages, or about one for every adult living in the country.
According to New South Wales Police, this 39-year-old suburban Sydney resident, whose identity has not been revealed, is the sole author of these fraudulent messages.
Mobile phone users across the country received the messages, which contained fake links purporting to be from Australia Post or toll road concessionaires. They were allegedly sent via “SIM boxes” capable of sending tens of thousands of messages per day.
The man was accused of using connected devices to “commit a serious crime.” He was released on bail.
“SMS phishing is one of the most common tactics used by fraudsters to obtain banking information and personal information from their victims,” said Jason Smith, Commander of the Police Cybercrime Squad.
“SIM boxes can hold more than 250 active SIM cards and typically send up to 150,000 messages per day with lures designed to impale victims.”