Chinese police have arrested 1,500 people who were allegedly using fake base station systems to send spam SMS messages.
According to Reuters, the operation to dismantle the gang, which operated in a province bordering North Korea, began in February. The gang members are accused of illegally sending more than 200 million spam.
Law enforcement authorities are taking increasingly strict measures to suppress such attacks, as SMS spam is a huge problem in China.
According to a Xinhua report, 200 billion spam messages were sent during the first half of 2013 to Chinese subscribers.
Fake base stations are placed on a truck or car, which travels down the road and transmits messages. The base stations send out a high-powered signal that forces all mobile phones in the area to disconnect from their legitimate base station and connect to them.
Spammers are often hired by local businessmen to promote their goods.
