Young man arrested for phishing scam using radio jammer

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for posing as government-verified organizations to send phishing text messages using a radio jammer, police said on Wednesday. 

Authorities reported that the fake messages bear a “#” prefix, a sign used by verified companies or groups participating in the government’s SMS Sender Registration Scheme, along with a phishing website link. 

One victim lost HK$22,000 after revealing credit card information to the scammer on the fraudulent site. 

Senior Inspector Wan Chun-hong of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau said the arrest, which took place in a van in Mong Kok, where officers seized two mobile phones and a radio jammer that was operational at the time of the bust. 

The man is set to face charges for conspiracy to defraud. 

Andrew Lo Tsz-him, principal regulatory affairs manager from the Office of the Communications Authority, said that a radio jammer could be used as a fake 2G-network base station, enabling scammers to send fraudulent messages. 

Since a 2G network requires only one-way authentication, it can easily deceive mobile phones into receiving the fake texts. 

Lo said: “If your stable mobile network suddenly switches to 2G and immediately receives an SMS, you should be more cautious about it.” 

He also advised citizens to avoid clicking on unfamiliar web links. 

(Jamie Liu)