“
Myroslav Trynko Graduate news editor at “Mezhy”. A geek, a programmer by profession, but a journalist by profession. Rider, tennis player and Formula 1 fan. I write about technology, smartphones and electric cars.
Fraudsters use the received information to purchase iPhones, clothes, cosmetics or gift certificates. Often they transfer the cards to Google and Apple Wallets in Asia and then share them with artists in the US. This allows purchases to be made without re-authentication, as if the owner himself had approved the transactions.
The mailing takes place through SIM farms — rooms filled with hundreds of SIM cards that allow one person to send as many messages as a thousand regular numbers. In the US, at least 38 such farms have already been discovered in cities such as Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami. They are installed by local workers hired through WeChat, who receive technical instruction and support.
According to the company Proofpoint, in just one day last month, Americans received 330,000 fraudulent SMS messages — a record number. The average monthly volume of such messages is three times higher than the level at the beginning of 2024.
Phishing sites created through tools from Telegram allow scammers to monitor what the victim is typing in real time. The key is getting a one-time bank password, which allows attackers to add a card to their digital wallet.
Next, the criminals attract 400-500 “mules” every day – Americans who make purchases with stolen money. Their reward is meager: about 12 cents for every $100 spent. The goods are then shipped to China and sold in the local market.
The scheme continues to gain momentum, and US authorities recognize it as one of the most sophisticated forms of digital fraud, directly fueling Chinese organized crime.
Read also: North Korean hackers ran a ‘laptop farm’ in the US from a woman’s home in Arizona
North Korean hackers stole more than $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025
”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Myroslav Trynko Graduate news editor at “Mezhy”. A geek, a programmer by profession, but a journalist by profession. Rider, tennis player and Formula 1 fan. I write about technology, smartphones and electric cars.
Fraudsters use the received information to purchase iPhones, clothes, cosmetics or gift certificates. Often they transfer the cards to Google and Apple Wallets in Asia and then share them with artists in the US. This allows purchases to be made without re-authentication, as if the owner himself had approved the transactions.
The mailing takes place through SIM farms — rooms filled with hundreds of SIM cards that allow one person to send as many messages as a thousand regular numbers. In the US, at least 38 such farms have already been discovered in cities such as Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami. They are installed by local workers hired through WeChat, who receive technical instruction and support.
According to the company Proofpoint, in just one day last month, Americans received 330,000 fraudulent SMS messages — a record number. The average monthly volume of such messages is three times higher than the level at the beginning of 2024.
Phishing sites created through tools from Telegram allow scammers to monitor what the victim is typing in real time. The key is getting a one-time bank password, which allows attackers to add a card to their digital wallet.
Next, the criminals attract 400-500 “mules” every day – Americans who make purchases with stolen money. Their reward is meager: about 12 cents for every $100 spent. The goods are then shipped to China and sold in the local market.
The scheme continues to gain momentum, and US authorities recognize it as one of the most sophisticated forms of digital fraud, directly fueling Chinese organized crime.
Read also: North Korean hackers ran a ‘laptop farm’ in the US from a woman’s home in Arizona
North Korean hackers stole more than $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025