DIA busts text scam ring
The text message, received at 4.18pm on a Monday, tells the phone user that their package has arrived at the warehouse. However, delivery has been suspended due to a missing home number “in the package”.
A link is provided for people to input their details and the message asks that the user please reply Y (yes) to confirm that they received the message. It’s a scam.
Cyber-security agency CERT NZ, in its quarterly report, warned that phishing – a way to get sensitive information by pretending to be someone in a position of authority – scams sent via text messages pretending to be from NZ Post had risen dramatically since the beginning of 2023.
In the three months from October to December, 1091 reports of phishing were sent through to CERT. Phishing scams were the largest amount of scams reported to the agency last year – more than 1000 reports each quarter.
That rise led the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to set up an operation to disrupt the scamming, which, digital messaging and systems team manager Joe Teo said, reduced the amount of reported scam texts by 80%.
Teo, who led Operation Cargo, said 12 search warrants were carried out across the country in 2023, with 4000 items seized – including $35,000 of SIM cards and hardware.
Items included about $10,000 of luxury items, a designer handbag and skincare products among them, and more than $56,000 in cash.
Teo said since the onset of the pandemic the DIA had noticed a significant amount of text message scams taking place.
The messages came in a variety of forms, not just mimicking NZ Post but also messages from Waka Kotahi, toll roads, and banks.
“They were starting to really increase in volume.”
Operation Cargo started in April 2023. The DIA worked with agencies both within government and the private sector, to identify patterns that would allow them to catch the perpetrators.
What they discovered was shocking, Teo said – a network of organised crime, focused on the mass sending of phishing messages through text.
At the heart of the network were three people from overseas, who had hired locals to work for them.
While he could not say how the three visitors got in contact with the Kiwis working for them, Teo said the internet and social media was definitely a key area of communication.
Led by the three visitors, large amounts of people had purchased SIM cards and electronic equipment to send phishing messages across different platforms – in “unprecedented volumes”.
Teo said the level of sophistication and the scale of the operation had not been seen before. He said following the search warrants some people were charged and would be appearing in the courts.
Because the people were transient and involved in organised crime, they were difficult to track down.
Since last July, Customs had worked alongside the DIA, NZ Police and CERT.
Investigations manager Dominic Adams said Customs targeted both passengers and goods crossing the border that were linked to the criminal group, which resulted in the seizure of a SIM box linked to a DIA target, and various interactions at the border with suspected and known members of the crime group.
“Customs continues to work collaboratively with the DIA and other partners to play our part in keeping New Zealanders safe from this type of organised crime.”
A CERT spokesperson said it had provided advice and data to support Operation Cargo as phishing remained the largest type of incident reported to it.
New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) chief executive Paul Brislen said, while he could not comment on what the forum did for Operation Cargo, they had a number of initiatives to help combat scams.
“It’s important for consumers to always be on the look out for fraudulent activity, and never to click on links sent to them in text messages or emails without verifying who the sender is first.”