A North Queensland man, Jiahui Liu, has been remanded in custody after being charged with sending millions of fake text messages aimed at stealing personal identity information. The 30-year-old allegedly used a SIM box to send between four and five million fraudulent messages.
These messages falsely claimed to be from organizations such as Centrelink, Medicare, Australia Post, the Commonwealth Bank, Transurban, and Linkt. Liu appeared in the Townsville Magistrate’s Court, where he was remanded to allow the court to arrange for a Mandarin translator.
During a police operation in the Townsville suburb of Aitkenvale on Tuesday, authorities seized 12,000 SIM cards along with a SIM box capable of sending mass text messages. It is believed the equipment was used from March to June to send phishing messages that directed victims to counterfeit websites in an attempt to steal their money and personal information.
Liu faces one charge of possessing equipment for the purpose of obtaining identity information. Detective Chief Inspector Vince Byrnes of the Cybercrimes squad urged any victims of the scam to come forward.
“Offenders who facilitate sending these types of text messages and emails will remain a focus of our investigations,” Byrnes stated, emphasizing police commitment to combating identity theft. He also advised the public to remain vigilant and thoroughly check any online payment requests.
Liu is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday.