A 19-year-old Sydney man has been arrested and charged over allegedly attempting to blackmail Optus customers through an SMS scam.
It comes as the Albanese government has said it will amend regulations so telcos can temporarily share details of identification documents, such as Medicare and passport numbers, with financial institutions after a data breach to help banks better protect their customers.
Last week, after an alleged attacker posted the records of 10,200 records of Optus customers on a data breach forum, some customers reported receiving a text message demanding payment of $2,000 into a bank account or their credentials would be “sold and used for fraudulent activity”.
The text provided direct bank account details, and was quickly shut down by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when notified.
On Thursday, Australian federal police assistant commissioner Justine Gough said a Rockdale man had been charged with using a telecommunications network with the intent to commit a serious offence, and dealing with ID information contrary to the Crimes Act of NSW.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
The AFP said the bank account used in the scam is in the name of a juvenile, and the AFP allege it was being used by the man.
Gough said the text message went out to 93 Optus customers as the man allegedly made his way through the list of customer records that had been released, but…
