Thai authorities announced last week the arrest of two members of an organized fraud ring. One of the men was accused of blasting hundreds of thousands of malicious SMS text messages on nearby mobile phones while driving on the streets of Bangkok. So-called “SMS bombing” attacks use technology to impersonate cellular towers and can send thousands of messages to devices within a close geographic radius.
According to local news outlet Khaosod, the cellular base station setup included an 8,000-watt mobile power plant, a Wi-Fi router and four mobile phones. The gang reportedly sent close to one million malicious SMS text messages over three days in mid-November. News outlets reported that the message was designed to trick recipients into thinking they had received a free gift. These attacks can be used to trick recipients into tapping a malicious link to steal their passwords or download malware.
