Chenwei Zhang, the driver of the smishing SMS blaster seized in Auckland last year has been sentenced to only 100 hours of community work, reports The New Zealand Herald. Zhang admitted to receiving payment of approximately NZD3,300 (USD1,960) in cryptocurrency and instructions on how to operate the SMS blaster from criminals that he believed to be from China.
Zhang said he was recruited through WeChat in April 2024; he also claimed that his criminal handler was previously unknown to him. A rate of USD400 was offered each time Zhang spent 10 hours of the day driving the SMS blaster around crowded locations in New Zealand. Zhang accepted the deal and he received a package containing the SMS blaster two months later. The package also contained instructions for how to install the SMS blaster, including powering it through a connection to the battery in his car (pictured at the bottom of this article). Zhang then used the SMS blaster to send messages that impersonated ASB and ANZ, two of the largest retail banks in New Zealand.
Judge Kirsten Lummis could find no precedent for Zhang’s crime in New Zealand case law but she did refer to the recent year-long prison sentence given to a Chinese student who drove an SMS blaster around London. The two crimes were similar but the punishments were not. One of the rationalizations given by Lummis for her lenient sentence was that the conviction also damaged Zhang’s chances of remaining in New Zealand when his student visa expires in January 2026.
It beggars belief that somebody intelligent enough to be a university student could attach a device to their car battery, then program it to send messages that appear to come from well-known banks, without also realizing they were enabling serious fraud. Nevertheless, Judge Lummis treated Zhang as a naif who did not understand the implications of his actions. She also gave weight to the fact that Zhang’s accomplices had been unable to take control of any bank accounts because of the strength of the two-factor authentication checks implemented by the banks. Lummis said:
The aspect of deterrence is in the forefront of my mind during this sentencing exercise. I am told these machines can be easily purchased off the internet, and nearly everyone carries a mobile phone which links to considerable amounts of personal data. However, I am also mindful that the reality of this situation is that there was no actual loss.
Lummis’ judgment is poor, and it makes me fearful for ordinary Kiwis. Contrary to her words, I see no reason to believe this sentence will act as a deterrent. It is difficult to catch SMS blasters and the people who use them. A light sentence like this will encourage others to accept the risk of operating them in exchange for easy money.
Attempted fraud deserves to be treated as seriously as frauds that succeed, just like justice systems treat attempted murder as seriously as murder, and attempted rape as seriously as rape. There should be no mitigation because banks have implemented anti-fraud controls and because the telcos and police located Zhang before one of his fraudulent messages reached a victim whose bank account was more vulnerable. Being arrested before somebody was hurt does not make a crime less serious. Online theft from bank accounts causes considerable anxiety for victims and fighting fraud is a burden on the whole of society. These costs should also be weighed when determining a suitable punishment for fraudsters.
Lummis’ words read like those of somebody who does not understand the crime that had been committed. Zhang did not purchase the SMS blaster he used; it was sent to him by the gangsters who recruited him to their gang. The machine cannot empty bank accounts on its own; it is used as part of a conspiracy involving fake websites and money mules. It does not matter if a victim has other personal data on their phone; all that matters is that a phone receives a message with a link to a phishing website. But most importantly, Lummis’ words echo those of judges in other countries that also advocated lenient sentences because they simply could not grasp the scale of the danger to the rest of society.
Other Western countries like the USA went through a period where teenage males like Zhang were given lenient sentences for cybercrime because too much emphasis was placed on rehabilitating the individual. Lighter sentences for young offenders encourages international criminal gangs to recruit teenage boys and young men. Teenage boys and young men are also most likely to be tempted by the offer of easy money for crimes committed against victims they never see face-to-face, partly because they are likely to be active participants in internet and social media groups that discuss cyber frauds.
Countries like the USA have changed tack. Very heavy sentences are now being given to young American men involved in cybercrime, and the USA is energetic in its pursuit of extraditions from other countries. American experts also understand the need for programs that take a ‘whole of society’ approach to reducing cybercrime by young men. It is not enough to simply give a ticking off to a 20 year old like Zhang, who was still a teenager when he began driving this SMS blaster around Auckland. Diminishing the seriousness of his crime by blaming it on youthful naivety puts everyone else in jeopardy because so many other young men will also agree to commit the same crime unless they have been educated to fear the consequences.
Caution is needed when reading the The New Zealand Herald’s account of this case because it contains factual errors about the worldwide prevalence of SMS blaster crime. For example, it claims there have been cases of SMS blasters being used for smishing in the USA and Australia although there are no known cases in either country. If you want the most comprehensive and reliable map of fake base stations being used to send SMS messages then use the SMS blaster map in our Global Fraud Dashboard. Nevertheless, the story per The New Zealand Herald can be found here. Keep scrolling down for police images of the SMS blaster seized from Zhang’s car, and its connection to his car battery.
