TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced on Tuesday (Dec. 12) that after deploying the "Info Thunder Project" to combat an extensive smartphone SMS phishing scam, the bureau apprehended 20 suspects and seized 15 illegal operations suspected of disseminating fraudulent text messages.
On average, each scam sent out 4,000 to 5,000 texts daily, with perpetrators being caught within an average of one and a half months.
Authorities revealed that the criminal syndicate sent out approximately 3 million text messages, resulting in significant financial losses for the public.
Posing as representatives from various legitimate entities, including the Taiwan Water Corporation, Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co. Ltd., government regulatory agencies, and telecom companies, the fraudsters duped recipients with misleading alerts.
The false claims ranged from unpaid water bills and toll fees to traffic fines and bogus loyalty point redemption offers, enticing victims to click on malicious links and enter their credit card and bank account details.
The bureau's dedicated intelligence analysis team conducted comprehensive studies of phishing cases while field operatives executed the arrests.
Evidence seized in two operations—spanning from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6, and from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8—includes two modem pools, 41 mobile phones, SIM cards, computers, Wi-Fi routers, and application forms for phone numbers.
Director-General Chou Yu-wei urged the public to remain vigilant against suspicious text messages, to resist clicking on dubious links, and to refrain from trusting such sources too readily.
Chou assured that the police would continue to exert every effort to dismantle these fraudulent networks and protect citizens from these cyber threats.