Hackers arrested in Sim Swapping attacks against celebrities

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

According to Europol:

A total of 8 criminals have been arrested on 9 February as a result of an international investigation into a series of sim swapping attacks targeting high-profile victims in the United States. These arrests follow earlier ones in Malta (1) and Belgium (1) of other members belonging to the same criminal network.

The attacks orchestrated by this criminal gang targeted thousands of victims throughout 2020, including famous internet influencers, sport stars, musicians and their families. The criminals are believed to have stolen from them over USD 100 million in cryptocurrencies after illegally gaining access to their phones.

This international sweep follows a year-long investigation jointly conducted by law enforcement authorities from the United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, Malta and Canada, with international activity coordinated by Europol.

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/ten-hackers-arrested-for-string-of-sim-swapping-attacks-against-celebrities

That is a huge amount for this band of online criminals, targeting high profile celebrities, (didn't mentioned who), and if they can do this to big targets, I think ordinary crypto enthusiasts are vulnerable to his sim swapping attacks so just be careful.

And we do hope that those gangs and those arrested are going to be in jail for a long time.

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[Lucius]

These hackers were obviously targeting the wrong victims, because if they thought they were just going to hack some very famous American citizens without touching the hornet's nest, then they were horribly mistaken. In addition to all the services around the world that took part in this action, the following detail caught my eye :

United States: US Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Santa Clara REACT;

We all know it’s not wise to upset these guys because they will turn heaven and earth to find you. The perpetrators of these crimes are between the ages of 18-26 and come from England and Scotland. Interestingly, all of them may be extradited to the US where they will receive an appropriate sentence and a nice prison cell to share with some very nasty roommate.

Today eight suspected members of the criminal group aged 18-26 were arrested in England and Scotland... “In this case, those arrested face prosecution for offences under the Computer Misuse Act, as well as fraud and money laundering as well as extradition to the USA for prosecution.

[btc_angela]

Just a matter of time before those hackers are going to be caught by the long arm of the US Law.

Interesting, this thugs are very young, (no surprise though), and I agree with Lucius, they've target the wrong victims here, yes the end goal was good, profiting millions, but they forget that with celebrities, your chances of being reported and chase by the US government are very high and as I have said, it's a guaranteed that eventually they are going to hunt and track these criminals.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

@Lucius - agree, and we really have to appreciate how clever or dumb this young criminals are, targeting a US celebrity for their gains and then what?  another waste of talent and intelligent, and if they are going to be extradited to the US, might be facing minimum 5 years imprisonment? And it's a collaborative effort from all their secretive agency and that is not a good sign for this master hackers, Lol.

[Lucius]

I'm not sure if it's just celebrities from the world of show business, considering that the US Secret Service was involved in everything - but it is possible that hackers accidentally or intentionally touched one of the high-ranking politicians. I'm not sure how many years in prison they will get for this crime, but I think you're right when you say it's a minimum of 5 years, but given that it's as much as $100 million in damages, it's possible they will get a higher sentence.

More than the punishment itself, it is more important that this is more than a clear message to anyone who tries something similar. It would be really nice if every scam of this type was treated this way, but we all know that this is a very specific case because of the amount of stolen funds and those who became victims in this process.

[eaLiTy]

That is a huge amount for this band of online criminals, targeting high profile celebrities, (didn't mentioned who), and if they can do this to big targets, I think ordinary crypto enthusiasts are vulnerable to his sim swapping attacks so just be careful.

If you are storing your coins in mobile wallets then it is easy for criminals to hack your devices as anyone can get these tools freely available and any noob can hack any device with these tools. The criminals are caught which means they are not that great in what they are doing and might have used warez from third party providers and malwares available online, the dumbest criminals and thought they would get away with it  .

[acquafredda]

These criminals' have been very stupid, how could tehy even think of doing something like that and escape the consequences. This activity was out of their league and in fact the big boys got very angry at them. Their cheek has been severely punished.

[Hamphser]

These criminals' have been very stupid, how could tehy even think of doing something like that and escape the consequences. This activity was out of their league and in fact the big boys got very angry at them. Their cheek has been severely punished.

They do have that in mind that they wont really be caught but didnt think about the odds or chances for them to be traced.Well, its just a matter of decision
if they are really that desperate on doing those hacks or crimes yet any form of stealing is a crime which it does really have accompanied consequences
once you get caught.Lucky if you havent caught but if you do then you're fucked up.

[aoluain]

I'm not sure if it's just celebrities from the world of show business, considering that the US Secret Service was involved in everything - but it is possible that hackers accidentally or intentionally touched one of the high-ranking politicians. I'm not sure how many years in prison they will get for this crime, but I think you're right when you say it's a minimum of 5 years, but given that it's as much as $100 million in damages, it's possible they will get a higher sentence.

More than the punishment itself, it is more important that this is more than a clear message to anyone who tries something similar. It would be really nice if every scam of this type was treated this way, but we all know that this is a very specific case because of the amount of stolen funds and those who became victims in this process.

Ha Ha they thought they were smart and that they would get away with their scam,
but in this case the secret service were able to catch them out, im delighted.

Would also love to see every scam artist brought to justice but it doesnt always mean
the victims get compensated for their losses.

[Theb]

These hackers were obviously targeting the wrong victims, because if they thought they were just going to hack some very famous American citizens without touching the hornet's nest, then they were horribly mistaken. In addition to all the services around the world that took part in this action, the following detail caught my eye :

United States: US Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Santa Clara REACT;

The nature of sim swapping is something that will definitely target highly influential people/celebrities because their status as a well-known person gives these criminals an easier job. Since they are popular some of their public information can easily be taken from the internet if they have secretaries they can be carelessly give this information away without them knowing that something bad will happen so its really no surprised to me that they targeted these types of people for their attack. Fortunately with our technology right now and with the coordination of the authorities and the telecom provider these people can easily be tracked, it won't be enough to stop the sim swapping scam but at least it would take away some of the wrongdoers.