The AFP has now charged two men for their alleged role in a Sydney-based criminal syndicate accused of stealing banking and identification details from thousands of Australians in a bid to access their accounts. Back in November, the AFP said it was believed the illegal phishing scam raked in around $100,000. It was alleged the cash was obtained from the banks and telco accounts of more than 450 victims.
This week, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged a 30-year-old man over his alleged role in the phishing scam. It followed the AFP charging a 38-year-old man (now 39) back in November for his alleged role in the same phishing scam.
The original investigation began in September 2021, when the AFP obtained information about suspicious website registrations suspected of being used to phish customers of Australian telecommunications providers and financial institutions.
The SMS phishing scam the men have been charged for is alleged to have started in 2018 to target customers of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Telstra, among others.
The AFP said people who fell victim to this scam would click the link in the text message, which took them to a fake website where they were prompted to enter their password and credentials. The information was then allegedly used by the syndicate to try to access the victims’ bank accounts and steal their identification.
Police have allegedly identified victims who had several thousand dollars stolen from their accounts and investigations are continuing, the AFP said.
According to the AFP, the phishing scam the men have been charged over saw messages allegedly sent through a SIM box, which is a device that holds a number of SIM cards from multiple carriers, permitting it to operate with several GSM gateways. The AFP allege the SIM box was operated from one of the charged man’s home and other properties. Police allege the SIM box controlled by the syndicate was regularly moved in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.
One SIM box can hold in excess of 100 SIM cards and send hundreds of thousands of text messages a day, simultaneously.
“The damage this scam has cost Australians is still being determined, with our cybercrime investigators continuing to identify victims and piece together the extent of the fraud,” AFP Detective Superintendent Bradley Marden added.
“These scam messages are a great burden to Australians, who receive them on a daily basis. We encourage people not to click on any links in a text message or email purporting to be from a bank or telecommunications company. Instead, go to their website or contact them directly.”
If you see something phishy, report it.
This article has been updated since it was first published.