14 DAY TRIAL // Nguyen Tuan Anh, a Vietnamese citizen from Hanoi, delivered mobile apps to about 800,000 phone owners, which would surreptitiously send short text messages to premium numbers.
As a result of the “business,” the fraudster raked in more than $420,000/€308,500 in about a year.
Anh was the head of the sales department in a Vietnamese company and the apps offered to the mobile users contained adult content.
Once the malicious apps were installed on the phone, they would start sending short text messages to premium numbers. An SMS would cost the victim $0.7 (€0.51), which would be credited to the fraudster’s bank account
According to Tuoitrenews, customers of Viettel, Mobifone and Vinaphone mobile carriers have been affected. The cost of a regular SMS in their networks ranges between $0.015 and $0.08 (€0.01 and €0.06), according to Twilio.
It appears that in 2013 Anh decided to expand the fraudulent activity and set up a website that offered around 300 apps, all laced with secret premium SMS sending capabilities.
He then created a Facebook page to further develop the scheme through associates, promising them 85% of the revenue generated by the fraudulent activity.
The police investigation revealed that after a year the operation had more than 2,400 members, who were paid approximately $47,000/€34,500 for distributing the risky apps.