Police arrest SMS blaster crew that sent malicious messages to thousands across Toronto

Toronto police arrested three men and laid 44 charges over an SMS blaster operation in a vehicle that spoofed cell towers to send malicious texts across the city.

Investigators say the crew targeted tens of thousands of nearby devices since November 2025, pushing phishing messages and links to fake sites.

Police called it the first known SMS blaster case in Canada, highlighting a physical attack method that can exploit 2G weaknesses and bypass ordinary spam filters.

The operation raised concerns about mobile security, banking credential theft, service disruption, and possible risks to emergency communications.