If you’ve received a scam text about unpaid tolls or undelivered mail, you’re likely targeted by a major scamming operation. This scam sends spam texts mimicking genuine service notifications, leading victims to phishing pages where they enter credit card details that get stolen.
In 2024, the scam stole at least 884,000 credit card details over seven months, costing victims thousands. Mistakes by the scam’s creator, Magic Cat, allowed researchers and journalists to uncover the identity of the mastermind, known as Darcula, a 24-year-old named Yucheng C.
Yucheng developed Magic Cat used in SMS scam campaigns. After being exposed, Darcula disappeared, leaving a new operation, Magic Mouse, to emerge. This new scam is gaining popularity, stealing credit card details on a large scale.
Mnemonic researchers found evidence of the operation, including images of payment terminals and phones used for message automation. The stolen card details are used in mobile wallets for payment fraud. Magic Mouse is now responsible for stealing 650,000 credit cards monthly.
While Magic Mouse seems to be a new operation, it uses stolen phishing kits from Magic Cat, designed to mimic major tech and service websites to steal credit card details.
Despite the severity of these scams, law enforcement isn’t focusing on the operation’s wider impact. Instead, tech companies and financial institutions bear responsibility for allowing these scams to thrive by not tightening security measures.
For those receiving suspicious texts, ignoring them is the best action.