A man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a text message scam that targeted London Underground passengers using homemade 'SMS blasters' hidden in suitcases. Daoyan Shang, 20, changed his plea to conspiracy to defraud at Inner London Crown Court on Friday, February 20, the fifth day of his trial.
The devices, described by prosecutors as 'crude,' were used to send fake messages about failed parcel deliveries from companies like Evri and Royal Mail. The messages contained links designed to trick recipients into revealing personal information, ultimately aiming to 'plunder their bank accounts,' the prosecution said.
Shang's co-defendant, Zhijia Fan, 48, described as the 'top boss' of the operation, also changed his plea to guilty a day earlier. The jury returned a guilty verdict against Shang and was dismissed. Both men, of no fixed abode, are to be sentenced on Tuesday alongside two other defendants.
The SMS blasters worked by masquerading as legitimate cell towers, tricking nearby phones into connecting to them. The gang used large suitcases with reinforced metal bottoms and ventilation holes to house the bulky base stations, which frequently broke down. Another suspect, Jinhua Zhang, 58, remains at large after fleeing while on bail.
