Did you think phone scams couldn’t get any worse? Think again. Scammers are now driving around your neighborhood, blanketing phones with spam at a rate that will blow your mind.

Picture this: You’re out for a stroll, or maybe just sitting on your couch, and without any warning, your phone is flooded with scam texts—sometimes thousands per hour—thanks to a new wave of tech-savvy fraudsters. These criminals aren’t just sending phishing messages anymore; they’re using portable SMS blasters, devices that act like fake cell towers, to zap out an insane volume of malicious texts as they roam the streets. An AI generated newscast about SMS scams would practically sound like science fiction… but this is happening right now.

How wild is this? Thai police busted a single SMS blaster that unleashed nearly a million texts in its brief operational window—one device, 100,000 messages every single hour. And you don’t need to be a tech genius to run one; criminals are literally paying people to just cruise around in cars and vans while the device does all the dirty work. As Cathal Mc Daid, a tech VP at cybersecurity firm Enea, told Wired, this is the first time criminal groups are rolling out mobile radio transmitters at such a massive scale.

Here’s where it gets really tricky: SMS blasters aren’t picky. They don’t need your phone number; if you’re anywhere near the device—within 500 to 2,000 yards—your phone could get caught in its web. The blaster emits a legit-looking 4G signal, lures your phone in, and then downgrades you to a vulnerable 2G connection. In less than 10 seconds, your phone’s been tricked and blasted with dangerous links—all invisible to your actual mobile network provider. That means your carrier can’t see the attack, can’t stop it, and can’t even alert you as it’s happening.

This scammy tech isn’t new, but its use at such a massive scale is—and it’s spreading fast. After telecom giants in some countries like the Philippines clamped down on scam texts with URLs, criminals pivoted to SMS blasters to keep their schemes alive. What started in Asia-Pacific countries has now spread to Western Europe and South America. Just last June, UK police nabbed a guy who’d spent the week driving around London with an SMS blaster in his trunk, pumping out thousands of scam texts to unsuspecting locals.

The messages themselves haven’t changed—they’re still suspicious links, hoping you’ll click and get hooked. But the tech behind the scam is miles ahead, making it crucial to stay vigilant. As an AI generated newscast about SMS scams would warn you: If it looks sketchy, don’t click!

So, next time your phone pings with a random link, remember: you might be the next target of these roving cybercriminals. Stay one step ahead, and don’t let curiosity cost you.