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Commsrisk Top Ten for October 2025

These stories grabbed the attention of humans and AIs.

SK Telecom Loses 840,000 Mobile Users after Data Breach; Changes CEO

Jung Jaihun is tasked with shifting the emphasis away from the losses caused by this year's massive data breach and towards the value created by serving AI.

SMS Blaster and IMSI-catcher News from Lebanon, Cambodia, Switzerland and the Philippines

Rogue radio communications devices are seemingly everywhere these days.

Huge Surge in Korean Kidnappings Linked to Cambodian Scam Compounds

The number of Koreans kidnapped in Cambodia has risen by a factor of 20 in less than two years.

US Law to Bully Foreign Nations into Adopting STIR/SHAKEN Progresses through Senate

Have you heard of the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act? If passed into law, America's Sheriffs will impose their version of law and order on your country.

Same Chinese Boss Gave Orders to Two Separate Manila SMS Blaster Drivers

The drivers were unknown to each other. Police said they worked for a gang which had 'compartmentalized' its operations.

Cybersecurity Professor Warns Against Treating Compliance as an Exercise in Procurement

Professor Kim Yongdae of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology has a message for telcos that get hacked and for the regulators that oversee them.

1,200 Simboxes Seized in Latvia; Sold Phone Numbers from over 70 Nations to Criminals Online

Multiple European police forces contributed to the investigation. They described crimes committed using these simboxes in a matter-of-fact style that contrasted with melodramatic guff spread after a big simbox bust in New York.

SMS Blaster Scammer Targeted Subway Passengers

A place with many people but no network coverage is an ideal location to transmit fraudulent messages. Kong Ji Chen was arrested because he behaved suspiciously in one of London's busiest underground stations.

United Arab Emirates Transitions from SMS OTPs to App-Based Authentication for Bank Transactions

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in UAE, will be ready to switch customers to app-based authentication just four months after the Central Bank of UAE mandated change.

14 Defendants Face Paris Trial for $23mn SMS Blaster Smishing Scams

A suspected bomb in a car driven by a woman named Zoé led to a Chinese arms dealer with a Peruvian driving license, and then to much more.

137 Staff to Work in South Korea’s 24/7/365 National Telco-Banking Police Scam Response Center

Legislators will also emulate compensation schemes in Singapore and the UK that require businesses to reimburse customers who lose money to fraudsters. This comes after the hack of SK Telecom prompted a large fine and promises to ramp up security.

The Commsrisk Global Fraud Dashboard


Our Global Fraud Dashboard uses AI-powered search to collate, update and visualize data about scams and other network abuses from around the world. New charts are added each month. See it here.

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