Chinese gangs made over $1 billion targeting Americans with scam texts

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, Chinese gangs have turned scam texts into a billion-dollar, highly sophisticated business targeting Americans, with more than $1 billion earned in just three years. The reports highlight toll, postage, and refund scams that resemble urgent government or service messages demanding a small fee, and note a 350% jump in toll payment texts since January 2024, including a record 330,000 such messages reported in a single day.

The operation is driven by bulk SMS sent from SIM farms—devices that house many SIM cards to send thousands of texts automatically—largely located in the US and run by workers unaware they are aiding a fraud ring. Money mules buy high-value goods, including gift cards, which are then laundered back to China, with criminals paying around 12 cents for every $100 gift card purchased.

The article explains how scammers bypass MFA by adding stolen card numbers to mobile wallets, and that 400 to 500 mules are employed on any given day to execute purchases.