technology
Infoblox Maps Underground Market for iPhone Unlocking Tools and Related Phishing Sites
Researchers identified more than 10,000 phishing websites tied to stolen iPhone unlocking services, with traffic surging 350 percent last year. The pay-per-use tools, costing less than $10 on average, target devices through physical access and social engineering. London police reported 80,000 phones stolen in one year as thieves seek access to financial accounts.
May 14, 6:00 AM·3m read2 sources
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Cybersecurity researchers have mapped an underground ecosystem that supplies criminals with tools to unlock stolen iPhones and launch phishing attacks against their owners' contacts. Infoblox researchers started looking into the stolen-phone unlocking economy earlier this year after a law-enforcement-related contact in Asia had their iPhone stolen and received a phishing message after including alternative contact details on the locked device.
The phishing page mimicked an Apple Find My page, showed a false map with the phone’s location, and then showed a pop-up asking for the phone’s PIN code.
Infoblox tracked dozens of groups selling unlocking tools, mostly focused on iPhones, and linked more than 10,000 phishing websites to the stolen iPhone unlocking activity. Traffic to these phishing domains increased 350 percent last year. The average cost of the pay-per-use unlocking software is below $10.
“Reselling is 100 percent what they are going for and people from all around the world appear to be buying access to the pay-per-use software,” Maël Le Touz, a staff threat researcher at Infoblox, stated. ” Around 80,000 devices were taken in London in one year.
“Phone thieves don’t just want the handset—they want access to bank accounts and personal information,” Will Lyne, the head of economic and cybercrime at London’s Metropolitan Police, stated.
Four men were caught handling more than 5,000 stolen phones and spending money from financial accounts on the devices. Dan Guido, the CEO and cofounder of security firm Trail of Bits and a strategic adviser to mobile security firm iVerify, stated that a stolen phone may only be worth $50 to $200 when it is locked but if you unlock it, it’s worth $500, or it’s worth $1,000.
