Organised Crime Gang Sentenced for Sophisticated Tube Text Message Fraud
A criminal gang of four individuals has been sentenced for orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting London Underground passengers with scam text messages, laundering approximately £600,000 through the purchase of gift cards. The Inner London Crown Court heard detailed evidence of the plot, which involved concealing 'SMS blaster' devices inside suitcases and wheeling them around the Tube network to send out phishing messages.
How the Elaborate Scam Operated
The fraudsters utilised portable SMS blasters hidden within luggage to broadcast fake messages to commuters' mobile phones as they walked past. These messages falsely claimed a parcel delivery had failed and included a link prompting recipients to enter their personal details to resolve the issue. The true intention, as prosecutor Alex Davidson explained, was to 'plunder' the victims' bank accounts by harvesting sensitive financial information.
While the total amount stolen specifically from the texting operation was difficult to quantify, the court established that the gang's 'top boss', 48-year-old Zhijia Fan, personally benefited by more than £100,000. His co-defendants—Daoyan Shang, 20, Wan Hafiz, 41, and Gatis Lauks, 25—were believed to have received smaller sums. However, Lauks was identified as having laundered around £600,000 by purchasing gift cards using stolen bank details, earning a five per cent commission on the loaded cards and estimating his personal profit from the scheme at approximately £30,000.
International Dimensions and Gift Card Purchases
The court heard that Lauks, who initially gave a 'no comment' interview to police in May 2025 before confessing five days later, had been recruited in June or July 2024. Under Fan's direction, he purchased gift cards with stolen bank account details, supported by a 'lady in China' providing real-time remote technical assistance. Using a mobile app loaded with compromised details, Lauks could buy up to 100 gift cards in a single day, including one transaction worth £8,000 from a UK store.
The gang used these gift cards to acquire various items, including clothing, Pokémon cards, Louis Vuitton products, and video games. Additionally, Fan had instructed Lauks to transport an SMS blaster in a suitcase on the Underground, though battery issues prevented this. Lauks was also sent to France to assess the feasibility of replicating the scam on the Paris Metro, but the plan was abandoned as the system lacked the same vulnerabilities exploitable in England.
Police Investigation and Court Sentencing
The scheme unravelled on March 11, 2025, when an off-duty British Transport Police detective noticed a suspicious suitcase with multiple holes emitting a green flash at King's Cross Underground station. Subsequent searches of Fan, Shang, and Hafiz's London addresses led to the seizure of 10,832 gift cards loaded with over £80,000 in fraudulent profits.
Following a trial at Inner London Crown Court, Fan and Shang changed their pleas to guilty on charges of conspiracy to defraud between January and March 2025. On Tuesday, Fan was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment, while Shang received two years and 10 months. Hafiz was jailed for 14 months for conspiracy to defraud and 10 weeks for possession of articles for use in fraud, with sentences to run concurrently, and faces deportation as a non-British national. Lauks, who previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Authorities' Response and Ongoing Efforts
Sentencing the group, the judge described the operation as an 'extremely sophisticated fraud' with all defendants as 'knowing participants', noting that 'tens of thousands' of 'smishing' messages—a blend of SMS and phishing—had been sent. Detective Inspector Tim Weekes of the BTP praised the vigilant officer who spotted the device, highlighting an extensive investigation involving specialists and collaboration with mobile network operators, the National Cyber Security Centre, and Ofcom.
Jonathan Kelleher from the Crown Prosecution Service emphasised the collaborative work between the BTP and CPS, stating that the CPS will now seek to recover the proceeds of crime. Another suspect, 58-year-old Jinhua Zhang, remains at large after fleeing while on bail. Authorities urge anyone who believes they have been a victim of such fraud to report it to the police for potential prosecution.
