Invasive spyware targeting Mexico soda tax advocates

San Francisco

LAST summer, Simón Barquera's phone started buzzing with a series of disturbing text messages from unknown numbers. One said that his daughter had been in a serious accident. Another claimed to be from a friend whose father had died - with a link to funeral details.

Yet, another message informed Dr Barquera, director of nutrition policy at Mexico's National Institute of Public Health, that a Mexican news outlet had accused him of negligence, again with a link. And in more menacing messages, someone claimed to be sleeping with Dr Barquera's wife. That included a link to what the sender claimed was photo evidence of their affair.