U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid $825,000 earlier this year to a company that manufactures vehicles equipped with various technologies for law enforcement, including fake cellphone towers known as "cell-site simulators," which can be used to spy on nearby phones. According to public records, the award dated May 8 "provides Cell Site Simulator (CSS) Vehicles to support the Homeland Security Technical Operations program" and is a modification for "additional CSS Vehicles."
These cybercriminals are no longer content with just sending you the odd phishing text or two. As Wired reports, more and more of them are using so-called "SMS blasters" that basically act as a portable cell tower, tricking your phones into connecting with them as they cruise by. The scammers walk or drive around with the devices, firing out a ludicrous volume of SMS messages that contain dangerous links.