Cybercriminal gangs linked to China have wilt a headache for millions of people in the United States. According to a Wall Street Journal report, fake text messages are stuff sent to American mobile phones every day, which people believe to be true, and they click on the links, resulting in their wall finance stuff emptied in minutes.
According to US investigative agencies, this gang has defrauded over $1 billion (approximately 8,900 crore) in the last three years. In September, 330,000 fake toll messages were sent in a single day, a record so far.
Bank finance stuff emptied in minutes
The WSJ report states that criminals trick victims into clicking on links by pretending to pay highway toll tax, post office fees, or traffic fines. The link appears to be a government website. As soon as a person enters their name, vellum number, and OTP, all the information is transferred to the criminals.
SIM Farms Operated from China
The power overdue this fraud lies in SIM farms. These are locations where hundreds of SIM cards are installed, permitting a single person to send texts from thousands of numbers. These farms are remotely controlled by gangs based in China but are moreover operated by gig workers in US cities. Dozens of SIM farms have been discovered in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.
Mobile Wallet Theft
Criminals install stolen credit cards into Apple Wallet and Google Pay. They then rent buyers in the US through the Telegram app. These buyers purchase iPhones, clothing, and souvenir cards from stores and then send them to China, where the criminals then sell them and pocket all the money.
According to experts, gig workers earn only 12 cents for every $100 purchased, but the criminals' profits are so substantial that this unshortened network has wilt a high-tech fraud industry.
