On the afternoon of Thursday (22), inspectors of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) in cooperation with the Civil Police carried out an operation in a building near Paradise Metro Station, in central São Paulo. The inspectors located and seized a clandestine equipment used for the shooting of fraudulent SMS messages – known as ERB Fake. This is the fifth seizure of the type held in Greater São Paulo in less than a year., According to data from Anatel.
The action was supported by the special body for repression of organized crime (siege) of the 81st Police District (5th sectional), which accompanied the entrance to the property located on the 15th floor of the condominium on Paulista. The 22 m² studio was rented by the scammers on the Airbnb platform on May 20, and since then it was used as the criminals’ HQ. No one was found in the unit at the time of the police approach. There were no personal effects either – the apartment was leased for the purpose of committing the crime.
According to Delegate Filipe Soares, the scheme was based on SMS to people passing through the region of Paulista Avenue, on foot or by car. Scammers operate with an illegal telecommunications system, using clandestine antenna that sent communications by radio frequency. In the messages, the criminals misled the victims informing that their Bradesco card had points to expire and suggested clicking a link for exchange for miles, products or cashbacks.
By clicking on the links, the victims received malware on their cell phones, which could be hacked, giving clandestine access to bank accounts. Thousands of people who passed the avenue received the messages. The Civil Police do not know how many of them clicked on the links.
“We have managed to overthrow this clandestine network and now we will be due diligence to locate, identify and locate those responsible for the irregular operation of telecommunication network,” explained the delegate.
A computer were seized, two nobreaks (devices that provide uninterrupted energy to electronic equipment in case of failure or oscillation in the power grid) and a clandestine antenna. Electronic equipment will go through expertise.
The investigation began after complaints from a mobile operator, which identified interference and signal degradation in the region, possibly caused by the operation of irregular equipment.
The Civil Police are conducting steps to try to locate the criminals and has the collaboration of the National Telecommunications Agency. Those involved must be responsible for crimes of invasion of computer device, clandestine telecommunications network, criminal association or criminal organization.
This content was originally published in Anatel seize equipment used for scams in rented apartment on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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