A cybercriminal who deployed a fake phone tower concealed within a suitcase to bombard thousands of commuters with text messages during peak rush hour has been jailed.
Kong Ji Chen, 31, was caught when a vigilant passenger received a fraudulent text whilst travelling on the Victoria Line at Victoria underground station on afternoon of 1 July – where mobile signal is typically non-existent.
The text claimed to be from Parcel Mail and invited the reader to click on a link to update their details in order to receive a package. Users who did so would then be asked to enter in their personal details. The passenger was familiar with SMS blasters and grew suspicious of Chen when he noticed him loitering on the platform with a large suitcase, not getting on any trains or moving on from the platform. British Transport Police officers were informed and arrived at Victoria Underground station, where Chen was found sitting on a bench next to a large green suitcase.
Chen claimed he was waiting for a friend, and claimed the suitcase had been given to him earlier in the day by another man. Officers searched the suitcase and upon opening it saw a portable battery attached to an electrical unit with a green flashing light and a black antenna. Chen was then arrested and taken into custody.
While in custody, the officer checked his phone and saw that he had received the same spam text message that had been sent out earlier. A technical security adviser reported that there were 165 reports to mobile phone carriers of the same spam text message coming from the same number between 2.38pm and 10.37pm on July 1.
He was sentenced to 24 weeks imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday, October 15, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.
Investigating officer DC Adrienne Curzon said: "I'm very pleased with the result in this case. Chen targeted potentially thousands of commuters, attempting to harvest their data. The conviction was achieved thanks to the close work our officers undertook with mobile network operators including BT, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone as well as the National Cyber Security Centre and Ofcom. "Thanks to the vigilance of one member of the public, our officers were able to act and prevent more people from being targeted and becoming victims of Chen's fraudulent endeavour. We rely on members of the public to report anything they see that they feel might be suspicious. If you see something that doesn't look right, text us on 61016 and we'll investigate."
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