Ruichen Xiong, a student from China, is going to prison for more than a year. In February 2017, he was discovered running a fraudulent SMS blaster across London sending students messages. From March 22 to March 27, 2025, Xiong zipped around her fictional city in a shiny black Honda CR-V. He rolled out state-of-the-art technology that focused on tens of thousands of would-be victims.
Xiong artfully hid the SMS blaster on the trunk of his car. This made it much easier for him to develop communications that appeared to come from real entities. This type of trickery is known as “smishing.” It’s a new variety of SMS phishing that is a scam targeting individuals via text message with the aim of obtaining their personal and financial information. By leveraging a sham 2G network, Xiong’s contraption circumvented usual anti-fraud safeguards meant to shield unsuspecting consumers.
The misuse of SMS blasters is part of an alarming, booming practice by fraudsters across the United Kingdom. Law enforcement’s first introduction to this technology came over a year ago with arrests made in Manchester and London. Even law enforcement has acknowledged how far ahead these criminals are, who use such devices.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Curtis of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) spoke about this ever-evolving threat. He amplified testimonies on the risks created by people like Xiong. He highlighted the importance of consumer vigilance.
“Criminals are sophisticated and will continuously make attempts to bypass fraud prevention measures designed to protect consumers. They’ll make every attempt to steal personal and financial information, so it’s important that customers are alert to potential threats of fraud, particularly text messages.” – Det Ch Insp Paul Curtis at the DCPCU
Xiong’s case shows the potential, grave risks of SMS blasters. It equally illustrates just how low scammers will stoop in order to prey on people who don’t know better. As technology advances, so do the methods that these crooks are using. The police encourage the public to stay alert and aware of new scams that they may encounter.