Man allegedly sent 17 million scam texts pretending to be from Australia Post, Linkt in one week

A man police allege sent out more than 17 million scam texts in one week used his young daughter to shield his face as he fled court.

A man who allegedly sent out more than 17 million scam texts pretending to be Australia Post and toll company Linkt did so in just one week, court documents reveal.

Xuan Su, 40, used his young daughter to shield his face from cameras before fleeing reporters on Wednesday after appearing in court for the first time since being arrested on December 12 last year.

Police claim Mr Su used multiple SIM cards to send out millions of texts Australia-wide in an attempt to fraud consumers and “obtain a financial advantage”.

However, Mr Su was hit with a fresh charge in court on Wednesday after police discovered he had also allegedly been using Australian passports and driver’s licenses to commit fraud from September 2022 to December 2023.

Xuan Su, 40, used his young daughter to shield his face from cameras.

Outside Liverpool Local Court in Sydney’s west, Mr Su’s wife sternly asked the media to “stop filming my daughter” as her husband picked up the toddler to evade having his photo taken.

Lawyer David Downey told reporters it was unclear whether his client was planning to fight the two charges when the matter returns in April.

“I need to take further instruction from my client,” he said.

Court documents revealed Mr Su allegedly connected to a “telecommunication network” before sending out the millions of texts between December 5 and 12 in what was labelled as a “serious offence”.

On December 12, officers searched Mr Su’s home and allegedly found two sim boxes, multiple SIM cards, and electronics consistent with running a scam text scheme before arresting him.

This is an example of the type of text police allege Su sent.

Millions of the messages were sent to Aussies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

One SIM box can hold over 250 active SIM cards and send out up to 150,000 messages daily.

Between January 1 and September 30 last year, Australians lost more than $92 million to scammers impersonating businesses and organisations.

The timing of Mr Su’s arrest led to an appeal from police, asking consumers to be mindful of scams in the lead-up to Christmas.

“As we enter the final lead-up to Christmas, a lot of people will be expecting online deliveries; but under no circumstances should you ever click on a link you receive in an SMS message or email,” NSW Police Cyber Squad Commander Jason Smith said at the time.

“Scammers will often pretend to be from a reputable company or financial institution so even if it’s a company you regularly deal with, the safer option is to independently log into that company’s website to check your account.”

Mr Su will appear next in Campbelltown Local Court on April 10.