Hong Kong police and Interpol uncover servers and apps used by global phishing syndicate
- Bogus apps impersonated banks, media players and others to steal data from victims’ smartphones
- Registered subscribers for servers were individuals in mainland China, Philippines and Cambodia
Hong Kong police have cracked the local operation of an international phishing syndicate that used 563 bogus mobile applications to spy on phones globally and steal information.
Officers also tracked down 258 servers around the world that were linked with the apps, according to Senior Superintendent Raymond Lam Cheuk-ho of the force’s cyber security and technology crime bureau.
The 11-month joint operation with Interpol began last February and was code-named “Magicflame”.
It came amid a rise in cybercrime worldwide, with some victims losing their life savings after hackers stole their personal details and cleaned out their bank accounts.
Lam said the apps, planted with the Trojan virus, impersonated businesses such as banks, financial institutions, media players, and dating and camera apps.
He revealed that 192 of the servers were in the city and cybercriminals kept switching to different ones in Hong Kong and abroad to avoid detection.
The Post learned that the registered subscribers for the servers were individuals in mainland China, the Philippines and Cambodia who had set up their accounts online.
According to police, hackers sent phishing SMS messages that appeared to be from official sources and directed recipients to click on a link.
