WHAT JUST HAPPENED? British authorities have arrested two suspects for allegedly running a "homemade mobile antenna" to send thousands of spam texts impersonating banks and other organizations. It's being called the first scheme of its kind uncovered in the UK.
The cybercriminals are accused of piecing together an illegitimate cell tower or "SMS blaster" device to bypass mobile carriers' systems for filtering out sketchy text messages.
One man, 32-year-old Huayong Xu of Croydon, has been charged so far with possession of articles for fraud stemming from the alleged SMS spam setup. He's being held without bail ahead of a court appearance at the end of this month. Meanwhile, a second suspect arrested in Manchester back in early May was released on bond.