Cybercriminals Have a Weird New Way to Target You With Scam Texts

Cybercriminals have a new way of sending millions of scam text messages to people. Typically when fraudsters send waves of phishing messages to phones—such as toll or delivery scams —they may use a huge list of phone numbers and automate the sending of messages. But as phone companies and telecom services have rolled out more tools to detect scams in texts, criminals have started driving around cities with fake cell phone towers that send messages directly to nearby phones.

Over the last year, there has been a marked uptick in the use of so-called “SMS blasters” by scammers, with cops in multiple countries detecting and arresting people using the equipment. SMS blasters are small devices, which have been found in the back of criminals’ cars and sometimes backpacks , that impers