A teenager from Arizona hacked the SIM cards of executives from Northern California. He committed the theft of millions of dollars in bitcoins. The hacker used part of the stolen funds to buy a BMW i8 car for $150,000.
The US Department of Justice has accused a teenager and his accomplices of stealing cryptocurrencies from Silicon Valley employees. This was reported by Decrypt with reference to court materials.
The agency is trying to confiscate millions of dollars in bitcoins that fraudster Ahmad Wagaafe Hared stole between 2016 and 2018. Also, prosecutors insist on the return of the sports car, for the purchase of which the stolen cryptocurrency was used.
The source reports that the hacker used a SIM card substitution scheme to steal $5.2 million worth of digital assets. It suggests that the fraudster forces the mobile operator to transfer control of the victim's mobile phone, pretending to be its owner.
As it became known, at the time of the crime, the attacker lived in the state of Arizona. He had an accomplice, Matthew Jean Dittman, from Nevada. Fraudsters have committed a number of crimes in Northern California, forcing support service operators to disclose detailed information about SIM cards. Presumably, many of them belonged to the heads of companies associated with cryptocurrencies.
Although the names of top managers are not mentioned, this region is home to Silicon Valley and an entire ecosystem of cryptocurrency companies and startups. In the indictment, prosecutors said that hackers called some victims after they gained control of the accounts, in order to re-extort them.
Cyber security specialist Brian Krebs clarified that Harred is known in the so-called darknet under the name Winblo. With some of the stolen funds, he bought a BMW i8 car worth about $150,000.
The scheme ceased to exist in 2019, when the FBI detained Harred and Dietman. At the time of publication, the verdict of the scammers has not yet been passed.
The US Department of Justice has accused a teenager and his accomplices of stealing cryptocurrencies from Silicon Valley employees. This was reported by Decrypt with reference to court materials.
The agency is trying to confiscate millions of dollars in bitcoins that fraudster Ahmad Wagaafe Hared stole between 2016 and 2018. Also, prosecutors insist on the return of the sports car, for the purchase of which the stolen cryptocurrency was used.
The source reports that the hacker used a SIM card substitution scheme to steal $5.2 million worth of digital assets. It suggests that the fraudster forces the mobile operator to transfer control of the victim's mobile phone, pretending to be its owner.
As it became known, at the time of the crime, the attacker lived in the state of Arizona. He had an accomplice, Matthew Jean Dittman, from Nevada. Fraudsters have committed a number of crimes in Northern California, forcing support service operators to disclose detailed information about SIM cards. Presumably, many of them belonged to the heads of companies associated with cryptocurrencies.
Although the names of top managers are not mentioned, this region is home to Silicon Valley and an entire ecosystem of cryptocurrency companies and startups. In the indictment, prosecutors said that hackers called some victims after they gained control of the accounts, in order to re-extort them.
Cyber security specialist Brian Krebs clarified that Harred is known in the so-called darknet under the name Winblo. With some of the stolen funds, he bought a BMW i8 car worth about $150,000.
The scheme ceased to exist in 2019, when the FBI detained Harred and Dietman. At the time of publication, the verdict of the scammers has not yet been passed.
