Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a statement and photographs relating to the arrest of two Chinese nationals who sent smishing SMS messages from a fake base station. The messages included links to websites which impersonated reputable public and private sector organizations including mobile operators. The websites asked for the details of the payment cards belonging to victims. The information obtained from victims was then used to purchase goods and services abroad.
This appears to be the first reported case of its type in Serbia. Nothing was said about the location in Serbia where the men were caught but the police reportedly searched multiple apartments and business premises. The two arrested men, aged 33 and 34, were said to be working for an organized criminal gang that operates across ‘several’ European countries.
Regular readers of Commsrisk may also notice a telltale sign that these criminals are connected to SMS blasting smishers found elsewhere. Photographs of the equipment found in their car show they possessed a distinctive orange DC-AC power converter of a type also used in conjunction with SMS blasters seized in many other countries. Scroll down for the photographs of the equipment found in Serbia.
Commsrisk uses AI-powered search to maintain the most comprehensive global map of reported SMS blasters. This incident has been added to the map.
Photographs from the Serbian government of the seized equipment are reproduced below. A video of the two men being arrested is here. Look here for this news per the official Instagram account of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
