Man drove around Singapore with ‘SMS blaster’ that sent more than 10,000 phishing messages, gets jail

Between Oct 13 and Nov 18, 2025, Ong drove around Singapore for between 10 and 12 hours every day, with the SMS blaster device and components placed at the back of his car.

He hid the blaster by placing a cardboard box over it.

PROTECTED HIS OWN SISTER

After a few days of driving, Ong discovered that the device was transmitting WhatsApp account phishing messages to people in the vicinity.

On Oct 15, 2025, he went to visit his sister in Singapore.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ong Xin Jie said: “As the accused knew that his sister might receive the WhatsApp account phishing messages transmitted by the SMS blaster device in his motorcar, the accused informed his sister not to visit any webpage on any WhatsApp or text messages that she received.

“The accused did so as he knew the messages transmitted by the SMS blaster device were part of a coordinated effort designed to scam individuals into delivering money to third parties.

“The accused additionally knew that his sister was vulnerable to falling prey to such scams, as she had previously been a victim of a scam.”

During his time in Singapore, Ong met another person whom he understood was also driving around Singapore for the same purpose.

MORE THAN 31,000 PHONES WITHIN RANGE

Between October and November 2025, the police received reports of suspicious WhatsApp or text messages. Between Nov 18 and 19, police officers conducted an islandwide operation to apprehend those involved in sending the phishing messages.

Ong was arrested on Nov 18.

His car and lodgings were searched, and the device was seized.  

Ong said that he received RM5,000 for his services before he was arrested.

The authorities analysed the contents of the seized SMS blaster device and found that at least 31,820 mobile phones had fallen within its area of coverage, and 10,533 WhatsApp account phishing messages were successfully sent to mobile devices during the period that Ong was operating it.

At least one police report involved a victim who reported a loss of about S$1,800 after being led to transfer money to a bank account controlled by a third party.

SCAM OFFENCES A MAJOR CONCERN

The prosecution sought between 21 and 25 months’ jail and a fine of RM5,000, equivalent to the amount that the offender benefited from his crime.

The prosecutor said that the potential for harm was high, referring to the number of WhatsApp phishing messages that were sent, but noted that the actual amount lost from the scams was not high.

“However, we note that there may have been other victims that have not yet come forward,” the prosecutor said, adding that the police’s advisory on such scams, released on Nov 20, 2025, may have helped in preventing more losses.

He also highlighted the syndicated and transnational nature of the crime as aggravating factors.

Ong had displayed an element of sophistication in assembling and operating the SMS blaster, the prosecution noted.

Scam-related offences remain a “major and fast-growing crime of concern in Singapore”, the prosecutor said.

“When members of transnational crime syndicates are apprehended, the appropriate response is the unflinching imposition of appropriately stiff sentences in dealing with transgression.”

POTENTIAL HARM, ACTUAL HARM 

Ong’s lawyer, Ms Claire Chong from law firm Chooi Jing Yen, argued for no more than 18 months’ jail.

She said that her client used to work on a farm before entering a pawn-related business in Malaysia. He accrued substantial debts due to gambling.

On the offence, Ms Chong noted that although 10,533 phishing messages were sent, the actual harm identified involved one victim.

“A transmitted message is not equivalent to a completed instance of cheating. Nor does the evidence establish that every transmitted message was received, read, believed or acted upon,” Ms Chong said.

“The disparity between the potential and actual harm is therefore stark,” she added.

She cautioned against speculating that there could have been other victims who had not stepped forward, as the prosecution had suggested.

“The prosecution cannot introduce new aggravating facts beyond the admitted facts through its submissions on sentence.

“Further, given that the messages were transmitted in October to November 2025, it is highly unlikely that any further victims will come forward now, if they have not already,” Ms Chong said.

She also argued that even though the device required some technical knowledge in assembly and operation, Mr Ong had not planned or devised a sophisticated scheme.

“Mr Ong plugged things into a machine and placed this in his car. He covered the SMS blaster device with a cardboard box. All of this was done in accordance with instructions and teaching from Bai Ge. This was not, by any means, sophisticated.”

For cheating, Ong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.