A criminal organization engaged in repeated fraudulent activities, known as ‘Hello Dad, Hello Mom’ and ‘Job Scam’, was dismantled by the Judicial Police (PJ). The authorities noted that “the suspects lived comfortably and solely from this illicit activity.”
During searches conducted at the suspects’ residence and business premises located in the Lisbon area, six SMS gateways were seized, which were operating simultaneously with 224 SIM cards, as well as computer equipment, mobile phones, and about 12,000 SIM cards from various national and European operators. These were used to carry out fraud with the aid of information technology,” explained the PJ in a statement issued to newsrooms on Friday.
The authority further reported that the seized SMS gateways “enabled mass message sending” and might have “harmed an indeterminate number of victims, presumably thousands.”
A 21-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman have been named as “defendants.” The third suspect’s whereabouts are “unknown.”
