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Toronto police seize 'SMS blasters,' a cybercrime weapon never before seen in Canada
Toronto Police have made three arrests and seized several “SMS blasters,” a sophisticated cybercrime weapon not previously seen in Canada.
In a news conference on Thursday morning, Deputy Chief Robert Johnson and Detective Sergeant Lindsay Riddell said three men are facing a total of 44 charges in what they described as a first-of-its-kind cybercrime investigation in Canada.
The investigation, dubbed Project Lighthouse, began in November 2025 after police were alerted to a suspected SMS blaster operating in downtown Toronto.
SMS stands for Short Message Service. An SMS blaster mimics a legitimate cell tower, but when nearby phones connect to it, users receive fraudulent text messages that appear to come from trusted organizations.
These messages prompt recipients to click on links that lead to fake websites designed to capture personal information, a tactic known as SMS phishing or “smishing.”
This marks the first known instance of this technology being used in Canada and highlights an emerging threat to both public safety and financial security, police said in a news release .
“What makes this particularly concerning is the scale and impact,” Johnson said Thursday. “This wasn’t targeting a single individual or business. It had the ability to reach thousands of devices at once. And beyond the financial risk, there are real public safety implications. For instance, when devices are diverted from legitimate networks, even briefly, it interferes with a person’s ability to connect to emergency services.”
Police determined the device was mobile and being run out of vehicles, allowing it to be used in multiple locations.
“We believe tens of thousands of devices were connected to the blaster over several months,” Riddell said. “We also identified more than 13 million network disruptions where devices were unable to properly connect to legitimate cell towers.” Such disruptions could last for periods ranging from several seconds to several minutes.
Toronto Police executed search warrants at residences in Markham and Hamilton on March 31 and arrested two men. They also seized a large quantity of electronics, including several SMS blasters. On Tuesday a third man turned himself in to police.
Police showed an image of an SMS blaster that had been seized in a U.K. investigation, and which appears to be in the back of a vehicle. “The ones we seized in Toronto were uniquely built and we’re not sharing those publicly for safety reasons,” Riddell said.
She added that the investigation involved multiple partners including the RCMP, York Regional Police, Hamilton Police Service, financial institutions and telecommunications providers. “Their support was critical in helping us identify and disrupt this activity.”
Three men — Dafeng Lin, 27, of Hamilton, Junmin Shi, 25, of Markham, and Weitong Hu, 21, of Markham — have been arrested and charged with multiple offences, including mischief endangering life, personation with intent to gain advantage, fraud under $5,000, use of a computer system with intent to commit an offence, fraudulently intercepting a function of a computer system, and unauthorized possession of credit card data.
“This is a new and emerging threat in Canada,” said Johnson, “one that uses advanced technology to reach thousands of people at once and exploit their trust. As the first investigation of its kind in this country, it reflects how the Toronto Police Service is adapting quickly to detect and disrupt complex cyber-enabled crime. I’m proud of the work done by our Coordinated Cyber Centre and grateful to our policing and industry partners who helped bring this investigation forward.”
Police are reminding the public to be cautious of messages claiming to be from legitimate organizations such as 407 ETR, Canada Post or parking authorities requesting payment.
Anyone who thinks they’ve been targeted or victimized by fraud can report it to their local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or 1-888-495-8501. Riddell said police “are actively searching our reports … for these types of cases to then see if it’s related to this investigation.”
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