Dennis Su, a young man from Sydney, has confessed to blackmailing about 100 customers of Optus telecom company in an effort to get "quick money."
Based on an article by news.com.au, the 19-year-old scammer used the information obtained from the data breach at Optus.
Su made an appearance in the Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, Nov. 8, in order to enter a guilty plea to two charges of using equipment linked to a network to conduct a serious offense.
He used his iPhone XS to get access to the private details of almost 100 affected consumers.
Though he is not suspected of being engaged in the hacking at Optus in September, it is believed that he attempted to gain from the customers' stolen confidential information monetarily.
Opportunity to Obtain "Quick Money"
According to the records filed in the case, Su purported to be the one who was responsible for the cyber assault. He then proceeded to send text messages to 93 clients of Optus to extort money.
If the clients did not deposit $2,000 into Su's bank account between Sep. 24 and Oct. 6, he threatened to exploit their personal information for fraudulent conduct. Apparently, not one of the consumers of Optus who had their accounts hijacked paid the ransom.
As per evidence shown in court, he even sent follow-up messages to a number of the victims, one of whom ultimately went to the authorities and exposed him.
Discovering the Scheme
The authorities decided to press charges against Su after discovering that the bank account associated with the fraudulent scheme belonged to the boy's younger sibling.
After the bank decided to close the associated account, Su went to his neighborhood branch in person to inquire about the possibility of reopening his account.
The report said the teenager confessed to the law enforcement agents that he had blackmailed the victims because he saw an opportunity to get easy money. According to the records, he resorted to the SMS scam when he struggled to adjust to his status as an unemployed individual.
When Australian Federal Police investigators detained Su at his residence in Sydney on Oct. 6, they confiscated a phone that had been used to blackmail the clients of Optus.
Court Hearing
The magistrate, Susan Horan, remarked to the court that this was a significant case of this sort of misconduct. The court was informed that the highest possible sentence for the two offenses was ten years in jail if the defendant was found guilty.
Su will find out his fate in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court next year on Feb. 7.
The court heard that two counts of dealing with identification information to conduct an indictable crime and demand with a threat to get gain were dropped.
Over the holidays, he will stay on bail.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
