Manila: Authorities on Tuesday arrested a Malaysian suspected of heading a syndicate that supplies rogue cell towers used in text scams in the country. Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Alexander Ramos said the suspect, Thiang Choon Wee, is allegedly the leader of a syndicate that supplies International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers.

According to Philippines News Agency, Ramos emphasized the government's commitment to combatting foreign scammers, stating, "The Filipino government and its people are not going to let foreign scammers play us. We are going to fight," during a press conference. An IMSI catcher, also known as a rogue or fake cell tower, is an electronic device that tracks and intercepts mobile phone communications.

The CICC began monitoring the IMSI supplier in October last year. "We patiently waited for the big fish to surface before we conducted the operation," Ramos added. The suspect was arrested in a joint operation by the CICC, Philippine National Police - Anti Cybercrime Group, the Bureau of Immigration, and the National Telecommunications Commission.

Ramos explained that these IMSI catchers are used in text scams by mimicking cell towers and convincing nearby phones to connect to them, allowing for the collection of their IMSI numbers. These numbers can be used to track location, intercept messages, calls, and data traffic of target phones.