The journey to bring the creator of a fake BTS station, sending 60,000 fraudulent messages a day to light-Information Technology

The case of arresting Chen Jiong (Chinese) who spreads 60,000 fraudulent messages/day is an extremely arduous journey of anti-hacker reconnaissance to bring lawbreakers to light when there are only 48 left. Now it’s New Year’s Eve…

Fake BTS station system obtained in hotel on Tran Duy Hung street, Cau Giay district, Hanoi Unexpected mission

On the night of January 30, 2022 (ie the 28th day of the Lunar New Year), Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Thi Thu Thuy – Head of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (CATP Hanoi) suddenly sent me a message. message, request to urgently publish information to prosecute a Chinese subject for the crime of illegally infiltrating the computer network, telecommunications network or electronic means of another person, specified in Article 289 of the Penal Code.

Ms. Thuy shared, this was really an unexpected task when the Lunar New Year was approaching, but she received a request to accept the case from the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security). At that moment, her unit’s staff was also exhausted by more than half because someone was infected with Covid-19, and the people from far away also went home to celebrate Tet with their loved ones.

“But implementing the direction of the Party Committee and the Board of Directors, no matter how difficult it is, it must be done and must be completed in the best way. We immediately asked the Criminal Police Department to join in and coordinate to carry out procedural measures,” said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Thi Thu Thuy.

Before requesting the Hanoi CATP to cooperate in receiving the case, the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Use Prevention (Ministry of Public Security) coordinated with the Ministry of Information and Communications to use professional measures to checked and discovered in the area of ​​Tran Duy Hung Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, there is a device that fakes a BTS station that broadcasts tens of thousands of messages every day.

These are all fake branded messages sent to mobile subscribers living in the area or even people moving on the road when entering the operating area. When recipients click on the link in the message, they will access betting websites football or web sex depending on the content of the message received.

Messages people received from fake BTS stations spread

Major Tran Thi Thu Ngoc – Vice Captain of Team 6 of the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division said that the ministry’s professional unit had carried out investigation measures and identified the operator. This fake BTS station is Chen Jiong (Chinese nationality). However, it is not easy to prove that Chen Jiong’s behavior has illegally infiltrated the computer network, telecommunications network or electronic means of other people, and the Department of Professional Affairs requested the Hanoi CATP to cooperate. help.

Overcoming difficulties at all costs

Major Tran Thi Thu Ngoc recalls, the journey to bring Chen Jiong to the front of the law was not a battle of wits with cunning and filtered criminals, nor was the fight and chase of force. police force, but it is extremely difficult and cumbersome in terms of procedures.

“Chen Jiong’s violation is clear, but with the law, the proof is the most important thing. At that time, in order to prove that the fake BTS system used by Chen Jiong had infringed on the personal computer network, telecommunications network or electronic means, it had to be assessed by the Bureau of Radio Frequency. (Ministry of Information and Communications). But unfortunately, because of the last days of the year, this assessment becomes very difficult. In addition to the fact that Chen Jiong is a foreigner, the arrest has to be even more cautious,” recalled Lieutenant Colonel Ngoc.

The code to indicate that the message was sent successfully was collected on Chen Jiong’s computer

The first difficulty for investigators is translating so that they can record the subject’s statements, thereby revealing information to have grounds to prosecute the subject. Normally, it is not too difficult to find Chinese interpreters with police officers. But at the time of Tet, combined with the complicated development of the epidemic, this is not a simple problem. The commander of Team 6 immediately sent his family members who are officials working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help.

The meeting went smoothly, but the next day, the interpreter announced that he had become F0. That means the team’s cadres have become F1. No one dared to report this to the commander, because if so, there would be no one left to continue working. The second interpreter is a female lecturer at the People’s Security Academy. This female lecturer was on her way home to celebrate Tet with her family when she received an offer to help. She did not mind letting her husband and children continue on their journey, and she herself took the bus back to Hanoi to serve the working group.

With that support, the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention initially grasped Chen Jiong’s violations. Due to many years working in Vietnam, Chen Jiong was hired by another Chinese with the same group of subjects to operate a fake BTS station. Chen Jiong’s daily job is to rent hotels at locations in the city at the request of the “boss” to book the machine and then let the machine run automatically. After 1 week, if the location of the machine was not effective, Chen Jiong moved to another location.

The machine runs for 8 hours a day, after activating the machine, Chen Jiong can go out and receive a salary of 40 million VND from the “boss” at the end of the month. Every day the above fake BTS station distributes about 60,000 – 70,000 successful messages to users. Mobile devices within the coverage of this fake BTS station will initially lose signal, then switch to 2G mode and can continue to be used for listening, calling, and texting. However, the speed will be slower than usual because it has to go through an intermediate pseudo-station to connect to the real BTS station of telecommunications carriers.

Investigators took Chen Jiong’s testimony

The end of the violator

Along with the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department are seasoned investigators from the Criminal Police Department, which is directly the Crime Prevention Team with foreign elements. Colonel Phung Tuan Cuong – Captain of the Crime Prevention Team with foreign elements recalled that when receiving the case from the Professional Department of the Ministry of Public Security, Chen Jiong was monitored in the area where the fake BTS station was discovered. days, so it is very necessary to complete proceedings with the subject.

“On the one hand, a working group clarified the violations, on the other hand, we carried out the procedures for the Hanoi People’s Procuracy to approve the order to prosecute the case, prosecute the accused and the arrest warrant. detention for investigation. “The quick meal on the street only had bread, but we were willing to sit and wait for hours to discuss with the Procuracy and agree on how to handle the object,” said Senior Colonel Phung Tuan Cuong.

After many discussions, with the collected documents and evidence, the order to prosecute the accused and to temporarily detain him was also approved by the City People’s Procuracy at the request of the Hanoi Police Department. On the morning of January 30 (ie, the 28th of Tet), Chen Jiong was taken to the Hanoi CATP No. 1 Detention Center. At that time, the subject himself had to exclaim: “The cadres work so hard for me. Wishing the staff a happy Tet holiday.”