operate

A single person, operating from Barcelona, ​​and with technological material valued at 400,000 euros, managed an entire infrastructure capable of sending up to 2.5 million fraudulent messages every day. This is just one example of how criminal groups act through these SIM card farms, which they rent to execute massive scams that affect millions of users around the world. What are these farms and how do they operate? These ‘farms’ are basically industrial computer systems designed to exploit thousands of SIM cards simultaneously. The core of the system is the SIMBOX, boxes that house hundreds of professional GSM modems. Each modem functions as an independent mobile phone, capable of sending between 12 and 18 messages per minute. In the last case dismantled by the Civil Guard, the operator had 35 SIMBOX equipped with 865 active modems, controlled by a dozen computers. The result: millions of fraudulent calls and SMS sent daily to previously selected victims. Criminal business. According to explains the Civil Guard, these infrastructures were not necessary until recently. As reported by El País, a government order put into effect last June blocked any calls with Spanish numbers made from computers with IP located abroad to stop spam and fraudulent calls. For this reason, international criminals have been forced to find alternatives. In the case of Spain, they use someone within the country, with technical knowledge and knowledge of the country’s social structures to provide them with active local numbers. This is how this new criminal business niche is born. How the scam works. Just like explained The Civil Guard in the report of the last case dismantled, the operator did not directly execute the scams. Its role was to create and maintain active infrastructure, which it then rented to cybercriminal networks anywhere in the world in exchange for payments in cryptocurrencies. He used a cafeteria in Barcelona as a cover, passing it off as a call center to justify the massive registration of telephone lines with the providers. The SIM cards (more than 60,000 ready-to-use and another 10,000 brand new at the time of the intervention) were purchased from different providers and activated with false identities. Constant rotation. The sending numbers changed very frequently automatically, remaining active only for brief periods after registration to make tracking difficult for telephone companies and security agents. When the operators detected mass shipments from certain numbers, they had already been replaced by others. For specific cases, the operator also had a briefcase with a portable SIMBOX that allowed him to work from any location (even from a moving vehicle) using a Wi-Fi connection or mobile network. Automation. From the Civil Guard they assure that, although the infrastructure could contact thousands of people simultaneously, these were not completely random shipments. The criminal groups that rented the service previously studied the profiles of potential victims and directed the messages and calls toward specific groups. In the case investigated, they mainly targeted Russian and Ukrainian citizens residing in Spain, contacting them in their own languages ​​and posing as the National Police or employees of the Bank of Spain to pressure them and obtain bank details or high-value transfers. According to mention El País, 170,000 euros were stolen from one of the victims. How the network was dismantled. The Civil Guard identified the operator after several complaints filed in Aspe and Novelda (Alicante). The agents traced the telephone lines used in the scams to the Barcelona cafeteria, which they placed under surveillance. A man frequently left the establishment carrying large boxes that he transported to his home. Three searches, in the home, the cafeteria and a storage room, allowed the entire infrastructure to be intervened. The detainee, a 41-year-old Ukrainian computer scientist, was initially released with precautionary measures, but was arrested again when he tried to leave the country through the El Prat airport, according to account the middle Vigo Lighthouse. Third infrastructure of this type in the world. According to Indian the acting head of the Civil Guard Command in Alicante, Francisco Poyato, this is the third farm of its kind dismantled worldwide, the second in Europe and the first in Spain. The investigation remains open. Given the value of the material seized and that it was an infrastructure that provided services to multiple criminal groups, the Civil Guard estimates that the money swindled could amount to several million euros. Cover image | Civil Guard In Xataka | This is the new scam with fake phone numbers that already has victims: Google’s AI results are the ‘culprit’