US Justice Department charged 6 people from a hacking group named “The Community” and 3 former employees of a mobile phone provider. These 9 people allegedly stole a whopping amount of $2.5 million worth of cryptocurrency. They have implemented a method called “SIM Swapping”.
SIM Swapping is Again Proved as a Dangerous Technique
A 15-count indictment was opened today and according to it an Irish man and five Americans formed a hacking group named “The Community”. They took the help of 3 former employees of a mobile phone provider. They altogether implemented the SIM swapping technique.
This SIM swapping or Hijacking is a specific type of identity theft which usually involves porting of a particular number to the SIM that the attacker is using. The attackers manipulate telephone provider and convince them that they are the original mobile number owner. Then they will port the mobile number onto their personal SIM card and use it for different purposes.
The former employees of the telephone companies have aided “the community” in stealing the identities. After swapping the SIMs successfully, the attackers use that number to get access to online accounts, etc. The accused committed a total of 7 SIM swaps and stole 2.5 million USD worth of cryptocurrency.
Each one of the defendants will face a maximum of 20 years penalty in the prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud. Identity theft will make them eligible for two more years of prison time. Earlier US justice department has imprisoned a 20-year old student for 10 years for SIM swapping.
Source – TheHackerNews