Chinese gangs made over $1 billion by targeting US through scam messages: Report

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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Chinese criminal gangs have made more than $1 billion over the past three years by running an elaborate scam contains fake text messagesAccording to the Department of Homeland Security, counterfeit government fees, identity theft and mobile payment technology have spread around the world.

As part of these scams, groups use remotely operated “SIM farms” to send messages to thousands of people, located anywhere from auto shops to shared office spaces. Text messages to unsuspecting AmericansThose who often receive messages warning of some type of unpaid government toll or fine.

“One person in a room with one SIM card can send as many text messages as 1,000 phone numbers,” said Adam Parks, an assistant special agent in charge. Homeland Security Test, told wall street journal,

in texts Send mobile phone users to fake websites that allow scammers to track keystrokes, passwords, and financial information input by victims.

From there, criminal groups install the stolen information on Google. apple wallet in Asia then link these wallets to the mobile phones of gig workers hired in the US

According to authorities, scammers use text messages warning of unpaid fees to trick mobile phone users into entering financial information into fake government websites, then take these details and use them to make purchases that benefit criminal groups.

According to authorities, scammers use text messages warning of unpaid fees to trick mobile phone users into entering financial information into fake government websites, then take these details and use them to make purchases that benefit criminal groups. ,Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.,

According to experts, these employees use fraudulent information to purchase gift cards, iPhones and other valuable items, which are then shipped to China.

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Across the US, officials in Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Colorado, California, Minnesota and Washington, DC are warning residents about a variation of this scam, sometimes called smishing, which is a hybrid of SMS messaging and phishing.

“Residents should ignore these messages and immediately file a complaint with the FTC,” said District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb. caution In May.

“We don’t know who is behind this,” said Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for the New York State Thruway Authority. told NBC News in March amid a spate of scams pretending to owe money to users on the E-ZPass toll system. “All we know is that it keeps coming and it keeps changing every few days.”

Scammers use sophisticated fake government websites to track personal identification details entered by mobile users, using this data to access credit cards and make fraudulent purchases.

Scammers use sophisticated fake government websites to track personal identification details entered by mobile users, using this data to access credit cards and make fraudulent purchases. ,Washington DC Attorney General’s Office,

Last year, nearly 60,000 people filed complaints with the FBI about text-based toll scams.

Researchers told WSJ They tracked nearly 330,000 such toll scams in a single day last month, three times the rate seen in January of 2024.

This scheme has become so well established that criminal groups sell pre-packaged kits on Telegram of the hardware to carry out these cyber crimes.

Mobile users are warned not to respond to requests from unfamiliar numbers or enter payment details on unofficial government websites.

Uk