Cybercriminals have a new strange way to target fraudulent texts

Since Blaster operates outside of traditional mobile networks, the messages they send are not subject to security measures taken by mobile phone providers. “None of our security controls apply to the messages that phones receive from them,” says Anton Rainaldo Benifacio, chief of information security and chief of artificial intelligence at the Philippine Telecom Communications Company. “When phones are connected to these fake cell sites, they can use any ID or sender number to send a fraud message.”

In 2022, Globe Telecom decided to stop delivering SMS messages containing URLs, and Bonifacio says he believes that fraudsters are using Blaster to “bypass” these measures. “The technology was already more niche, but I think the sales and assembly of these IMSI receiver machines have become more prevalent for criminal organizations,” he said. Researchers have found that Blasters SMS is sold online for thousands of dollars.

Samantha Kate, head of industry security at the GSMA mobile operator industry group, says the Asia -Oceania region has had the most impact so far, but there are cases in Western Europe and South America. “This may be a problem in one or two areas, but then we tend to appear in different areas,” Kate says. The report from Commsrisk and high -risk businesses have highlighted reports on Blasters SMS used in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, New Zealand, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman, Brazil, Hong Kong and more. London law enforcement officials say they have received seven text messages so far, and in June, a student from China was sentenced to prison for more than a year after being captured by one of the devices.

Keith says confronting text messages includes telecommunications operators and government regulators that are aware of the devices, the law enforcement agencies, as well as those who recognize and report fraud messages to the relevant authorities. “As a mobile industry, we want to find these things, we want people to trust what is on their device and we want to protect them,” Kate says.

Yomna Nasser, an Android software engineer, says people can stop their phones that connect to 2G networks in their settings. “After activation, your device will no longer scan or 2G cell towers,” Nasser says. The advanced Android protection mode also automatically disables 2G on some newer phones. Apple did not respond to the Wired request until it was released, although it deactivates 2G connections.

Finally, you may not know if Blaster SMS is used to send a scam for you. Ben Hurley, a Detective Sergeant with a dedicated card and payment crime unit in the city of London, who is investigating local cases, says that although the delivery is different, real frauds themselves have not changed. Phishing messages are often designed to click on a malicious link and personal information. “This is a new way to do the same thing,” Harley says. “It has changed how we should research it, but in fact the final result has not changed,” he says.

However, like all cybercrime, it is likely that those who run the designs and Bolsters can evolve their tactics. “The real Blaster devices they use are relatively unpleasant,” says McAd. If criminals can access more advanced technology and expertise, he says, “This can be the start of a cat and mouse game.”