Former NBN contractor charged over SMS phishing scam

A former contractor working on the rollout of the NBN has been charged by Australian Federal Police after allegedly stealing over $100,000 in an elaborate SMS phishing scam.

A former contractor working on the rollout of the NBN has been charged by Australian Federal Police after allegedly stealing more than $100,000 in an elaborate SMS phishing scam.

Jay Nelson McCrea, who is facing up to 20 years behind bars, was arrested last week accused of defrauding more than 450 unsuspecting victims.

The AFP will allege in court the 38-year-old sent fake text messages with links to phoney banking and telecommunication websites, including the Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Telstra.

Police say victims entered their usernames, passwords and other private information, which he then used to access their real accounts - stealing more than $100,000 and creating new accounts without their knowledge.

According to LinkedIn, Mr McCrea was contracted to install NBN cabling into homes across Sydney during the time of some of the alleged offending, which allegedly commenced in 2018.

AFP officers alongside NSW police from the Cybercrime Squad raided his Ryde home in Sydney’s northwest on Wednesday, seizing electronic devices, drug paraphernalia, multiple sim and bank cards, mobile phones and storage devices.

Mr McCrea, a former gaming project manager, was charged with dealing with proceeds of crime, possessing data with intent to commit computer offence and accessing data by carriage service with intent to commit a serious offence. He faced Hornsby Local Court on Wednesday and was denied bail.

Police are investigating and analysing seized devices and have not ruled out further charges.

The Australian understands authorities have prevented a further $4m from being stolen from 16,000 Australians, liaising with banking and telecommunication companies that have placed extra security protocols on accounts.

On Thursday, federal police executed a second search warrant at a Sydney hotel, charging a second 36-year-old man with two counts of fraud.

Commander Chris Goldsmid, who heads the AFP’s cybercrime unit, said scammers would use any tools they could to exploit people. “We encourage people to protect themselves against phishing scams by reviewing emails or SMSs before clicking on any links.

“Anyone who believes they have been a victim of a phishing scam, or who sees anomalies in their banking transactions, should contact their bank and also report the matter via Report Cyber at cyber.gov.au,” he said.