- SMS Blaster scams are increasing and are difficult to detect
- These scams involve cybercriminals that lead through cities and are directed to nearby phones with fake cell towers
- There are some simple ways to protect themselves from these scams.
The term ‘SMS Blaster’ is still unknown to many, but these devices are increasingly popular weapons used by cybercriminals, and their phone could be the goal.
These small devices can be used to go to hundreds of phones at the same time, and have been trapped by sending up to 100,000 text messages per hour. The worst part is that you don’t even realize whether it was the target of an SMS Blaster attack.
Fortunately, you can protect these attacks with a simple configuration on Android. IPhone users are less fortunate, but there are ways to stay safe, regardless of the smartphone you are using.
How do SMS Blaster scams work?
The term ‘SMS Blaster’ refers to small and portable devices that scammers can fit in the trunk of a car or even in a backpack.
These devices mimic cell towers and phones cheat to connect transmitting a false signal, and then use that opening to send hundreds, or even thousands, phishing texts (a practice known as ‘Smishing’).
Actually, an SMS blast is a rather unpretentious device, and cybercounts are often hired with the sole purpose of driving around certain areas. As the Sekoia Security Company (through Ars Technica) recently reported, the scammers have also been exploiting unusual cellular routers that are generally used in industrial environments to shoot Phishing messages.
As described by CablingThe so -called SMS Blasters forzan insecure connections when creating an illegitimate telephone mast, called the cell site simulator (CSS). The phones trapped in its radius, which can be up to 1,000 meters (328 feet) according to the National Center for Swiss Cybersecurity (NCSC) – They are vulnerable to SMS scams.
The device is initially connected to nearby phones by sending a 4G signal. Then, it pushes them to degrade at 2G, which is much less safe.
“The 2G False Base Station is used to send (explosions) malicious SMSS to mobile phones initially captured by the 4G False Base base station,” McDaid, vice president of technology and telecommunications in Enea told Wired Cathal McDaid. The entire process, from the initial connection to the sending of a text, can take less than 10 seconds.
Real messages often contain phishing links, and network operators are not blocked. No matter the carrier and it doesn’t matter if you use an older phone or one of the The best smartphonesYou could be vulnerable to SMS Blaster attacks.
The worst part of these scams is that cybercriminals do not even need to know their phone number.
SMS Blaster attacks are increasingly common
Wired reports that these scams originate in Southeast Asian countries, but now they are increasingly common worldwide.
Only a few months ago, a man in the United Kingdom was imprisoned for more than a year for using a SMS blast in the trunk of his car (through The guardian). He drove London for a few days in March 2025, and the texts he sent reached thousands of possible victims. Ironically, as the authorities arrested him, they received a text that claimed to be HM revenues and customs, the result of the Phishing device.
That said, this technology remains relatively new, and mobile networks are helpless when it comes to stopping them. “None of our safety controls apply to the messages that the phones receive from them,” told Wired Anton Reynaldo Bonifacio, director of Information Security and director of AI in Globe Telecom.
SMS Blasters are sold online for thousands of dollars, which, for a group of cybercriminals, is not a great obstacle. Until now, there have been reports of SMS Blaster scams from many countries, including New Zealand, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and the United Kingdom.
How to protect yourself
If you have an Android phone with Android 16 or newer, you can disable 2G connectivity on your device.
To deactivate 2G connectivity, look for the “2G Network Protection” alternation in its mobile network or SIM configuration. This can generally be found in configuration> Network and Internet> Sims, where you can find an alternation ‘allow 2g’ (see below).
On Samsung phones, look for a similar configuration configuration> connections> mobile networks, where there should be an alternation ‘allow 2G’ service. Beyond that, Android 16 also introduced a change that False cell towers flag and alerts you About them.
Apple does not have an exact equivalent to this, which makes it a bit more difficult to avoid 2G networks, but not quite impossible. The iPhone blocking mode (then available in iOS 16 or posterior) disables 2G connections, but will also lose many other features together with that, so regular use is not really recommended.
To find it on your iPhone, go to configuration> privacy and safety, then touch the block mode. This option is also available on iPads using the same process.
It doesn’t matter if you use Android or iOS, the broader advice to avoid SMS scams is the same regardless of the source.
Be particularly cautious with the texts that ask for a payment, for example, a toll rate. Other favorites among scammers are texts about deliveries, backward payments or refunds, so never follow these messages without investigating them first.
There are other revealing signs. Scam texts frequently have grammatical errors or inconsistencies with the format. Pause for a moment and take a closer look at any URL too, since they often contain oddities or gifts.
Naturally, you must also log in to your bank application or delivery service directly from your own address or marker notebook (or writing it manually in a browser), instead of clicking any link in text messages.
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