By Angel Di Matteo @shadowargel
The hacker will also have to answer for the crimes perpetrated in 2019, since he apparently participated in the theft of crypto funds from a company based in the United States through the use of SIM cloned cards to managers.
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A hacker allegedly linked to the events perpetrated against Twitter In 2020, he will face charges for his alleged participation in the theft of approximately USD $ 785,000 in cryptocurrencies in 2019, of which a company that provides solutions and services for exchanges was the victim.
Cryptocurrency theft with SIM cloned cards
This was reported by US Department of Justice (DOJ), which brought charges against 22-year-old Joseph James O’Connor, also known by the pseudonym “PlugWalkJoe“, And other conspirators, who allegedly cloned the SIM card from three executives of the affected Manhattan-based company.
According to reports associated with the case, the hackers used the SIM Cloned cards to access victims’ phone numbers and redirect all communications to phones owned by them. With this they were able to access the crypto accounts linked to the directors of the company, and thus get hold of the respective funds.
According to official figures, O’Connor and his partners managed to get a total of USD $ 784,000 in crypto funds, which are broken down as follows:
- 770.78 BCH
- 6,363.49 LTC
- 407.39 ETH
- 7,456 BTC
In this regard, in the report presented by DOJ it reads:
“Between approximately March 2019 and May 2019, Joseph James O’Connor, also known as ‘PlugwalkJoe’, the defendant, and his co-conspirators perpetrated a plan to use cloned SIMs to perform cyber intrusions, in order to steal approximately $ 784,000 in cryptocurrency from a Manhattan-based Industry Company (‘Company-1’), which, at all relevant times, provided wallet infrastructure and related software for exchanges around the world. “
Other crimes perpetrated by the hacker
As such, after seizing the originally stolen cryptocurrencies, O’Connor and his partners opted to legitimize the stolen capital through various transactions, and by exchanging some of these cryptocurrencies for others like Bitcoin before delivering them to their accounts.
Another important detail is that O’Connor apparently would also be involved with the massive hack perpetrated through Twitter, in which accounts of well-known personalities and companies from various sectors were compromised in a scam of great proportions, in which they invited followers to visit a web page where a false offer was made in which crypto funds would supposedly be given away to those who send your capital first.
O’Connor was arrested in Spain at the beginning of the year, and among the charges against him is conspiracy to commit computer hacking, electronic fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
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Source: DailyHodl, file
Version by Angel Di Matteo / DailyBitcoin
Picture of Unsplash
