kill switch who is profiting from scam texts – and can we stop them?
Nov 19, 2025
Eric Priezkalns, telecommunications analyst and founder of CommsRisk, digs into the tech behind the surge in scam texts. He breaks down SIM farms, SMS blasters, portable spoofing gear, and the industrialized networks and compounds that profit from mass messaging. Practical defenses and why carriers often fail to stop the flow are also discussed.
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Rogue Base Stations Bypass Telecom Defenses
- SMS blasters or rogue base stations connect directly to nearby phones and bypass telco controls.
- These devices can spoof sender IDs and push convincing bank-like phishing SMS to everyone in range.
Scam Operations Run Like Criminal Service Economies
- Scam operations are specialized and franchised, with different groups providing layers like SIM farms, bulk messaging, or social engineering.
- This criminal 'service economy' multiplies scale because buyers don't need full technical skills.
The Human Cost In Scam Compounds
- Scam compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos house tens of thousands forced into fraud, with reports of torture and slavery.
- Eric recounts a 19-year-old sold into a compound, beaten for missing targets, rescued after a $45,000 ransom.