A Sydney man responsible for an "opportunistic" and "unsophisticated" blackmail attempt against dozens of hacked Optus customers has been spared jail but must complete 100 hours of community service.
Dennis Su, 20, sent text messages to 92 people in September after finding their information on a website that published data from the Optus breach.
He told them their personal details would be sold and used for fraudulent activity within days unless they transferred $2,000 to a bank account belonging to his younger brother.
Nobody paid the money and one person replied to Su informing him that his details had been forwarded to police.
Su pleaded guilty to two counts of using equipment connected to a network to commit a serious offence and faced a potential maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
In Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court, Magistrate Emma Manea noted the offences were Su's first.
"It was his own number, it was his brother's account — he was going to be caught," she said.
"In terms of the sophistication, it perhaps reflects his youth and immaturity."
Julia Detheridge, for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, said Su's motivation was money.
She accepted the crimes were "relatively unsophisticated," describing them "an opportunistic use of that data to blackmail the individuals".
The court heard Su offered a high degree of cooperation with investigating police.
However, he also claimed he deleted the data due to his "conscience", despite deleting it after receiving the reply about his details being reported to police.
"He's panicked," the magistrate said.
"He's done something and thought about the consequences of that, and when the consequences of that have come to light, he's panicked."
Su's barrister, Ian Archibald, tendered an apology letter written by his client, whose parents supported him in court.
"It's quite clear from the subjective material your client seems to have learned his lesson," Magistrate Manea said.
She placed him on an 18-month community correction order and recorded a conviction.
Su must also complete 100 hours of community service and follow all reasonable directions for counselling and treatment.
A document of agreed facts previously revealed Su told police his intention was to "scam victims".
Su said he was "having a difficult time being unemployed" and saw "an opportunity to make quick money".
