A Malaysian citizen has received a 3-year prison sentence from Oslo District Court after being found guilty of using a radio device to send thousands of SMS messages that impersonated Norwegian banks. The smishing messages lured unsuspecting Norwegians into sharing their banking details, resulting in 103 frauds. This number is a tiny fraction of the almost 245,000 messages that were received by Norwegians as the fraudster drove around Oslo and Bergen during August and September of last year. Even this number appears small considering the police maps of the areas where messages were received in Oslo (pictured, left) and Bergen (right).
A statement from Økokrim, Norway’s law enforcement body for economic and environmental crimes, emphasized that the Malaysian was not working alone.
Retten har kommet til at domfelte var en del av en organisert kriminell gruppe der formålet med organiseringen har vært å begå alvorlig økonomisk kriminalitet over landegrenser.
The court has concluded that the convicted person was part of an organized criminal group where the purpose of the organization has been to commit serious financial crime across national borders.
The Malaysian fraudster is 25 years old and had only been in Norway for a short while, having seemingly traveled to Norway in order to commit crime. He described himself as a student.
Norway’s authorities have repeatedly stated they have never dealt with a crime like this before. The fraudster was first detained because it was wrongly suspected he was engaged in espionage. Responsibility for the investigation was later transferred to Økokrim but there remains uncertainty about the punishment that is merited given the large number of smishing messages sent, and hence the extent of the potential harm. Økokrim sought a 6-year sentence and are considering appealing the Oslo District Court decision.
