A 20-year-old Sydney man arrested after trying to scam Optus customers has escaped a jail sentence.
Dennis Su was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, an 18-month Community Correction Order, and had a conviction recorded by the Sydney Downing Centre Central District Court.
Su was arrested at his Rockdale home last October after downloading stolen customer details from the highly-publicised Optus data breach.
He then tried to extort $2,000 from 93 people via an SMS scam, which he sent from his real phone number, and demanded be paid into a bank account owned by his younger brother.
Nobody paid the money but one person replied to his message to say they had sent his details to police, prompting Su to delete the downloaded Optus data.
Magistrate Emma Manea said it was inevitable Su would be caught.
"It was his own number, it was his brother's account — he was going to be caught," she said, according to the ABC.
"In terms of the sophistication, it perhaps reflects his youth and immaturity."
Su said he was struggling with unemployment and saw an opportunity to make some easy money.
He tendered an apology letter to the court which the magistrate said showed he had “learned a lesson”.
Su pleaded guilty to two counts of using a telecommunications network with intent to commit a serious offence last November. He faced up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Following the sentencing, AFP Commander Chris Goldsmid said, “The criminal use of stolen data is a serious offence and has the potential to cause significant harm to the community.”
