Abstract
Pseudo base station (PBS), sometimes called fake base station, refers to cellular base stations that are employed for malicious and usually illegal purposes. Through the pitfalls of the GSM protocol, PSBs can hijack GSM signals of cellphones close by. Most PBSes are portable, for example hidden in vans or even carried in backpacks, and are deployed in densely populated regions. Then they can steal personal information from neighboring smartphones, or send intriguing messages to them that would ultimately lead to telecom frauds. In recent years, there has been a terrifying increase in the number of telecom frauds and the smartphones infected by viruses sent from PBSes. This urgently calls for methods and systems that can effectively identify and track PBSes. In this study, we designed and implemented a PBS detecting and tracking system, by conducting topic analysis of messages received by cellphones and analyzing their temporal and spatial distribution patterns. Using the system, we could perform a variety of exploratory analysis, including categorizing PBSes into either stationary or moving PBSes, discovering and visualizing their behavior patterns, and identifying districts that tend to suffer from a particular type of fraud messages.
Highlights
Cite This Article: Yongxing Li, Yang Heng, Ankang Hao, Tianxing Wang, Xiaojie Liu, and Lan Huang
A considerable proportion of people, for example the elderly and university freshmen, who are reasonably new to the smartphone technology and society, and lack sufficient knowledge and experiences in telecom frauds, are likely to fall for these intriguing messages
Recent investigation revealed that pseudo base stations were the weapon being used to send such scam messages and illegally collect personal information
Summary
"Congratulations! You have just won 500 dollars!". "You can redeem your credit card points from us!" "Need loans? No mortgage required!" It is increasingly common to receive such messages nowadays. Through the pitfalls of the GSM protocol, PSBs can hijack the GSM signals of cellphones in its neighboring area They can steal personal information from neighboring smartphones, or send intriguing messages to neighboring cellphones that would lead to telecom frauds. The number of telecom frauds and the number of smartphones infected by viruses sent from PBSes have increased terribly. This urgently calls for methods and systems that can effectively identify and track PSBs. In this study, we designed and implemented a PBS detecting and tracking system, by conducting topic analysis of messages received by cellphones together and by analyzing their temporal and spatial patterns.
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