Mohammed Faiyaz Iqbal, 43, has been jailed for three years and eight months after using a sophisticated "SMS blaster" to bombard mobile phone users near him with fake Royal Mail and other company texts, tricking victims into handing over payment and personal details. City of London Police described it as one of the first known cases of an SMS blaster being uncovered in a UK criminal investigation, highlighting how fraudsters are finding new ways to bypass telecoms security measures to target victims at scale.

Iqbal, from Preston, was caught after detectives grew suspicious of a surge in fraudulent texts being sent from the Trafford Centre in Manchester on 24 May 2024. A search of his van uncovered the blaster equipment concealed in wooden panels, along with power sources, Wi-Fi components and aerials fitted into the roof, which let him broadcast scam messages directly to nearby phones without needing victims' numbers. His phones held 7,859 compromised payment card details, and his home contained further banking material and three fake UK driving licences used to set up fraudulent bank accounts. He pleaded guilty to five offences including fraud and unauthorised use of wireless telegraphy apparatus.