From ‘Call of Duty’ to cryptocurrency theft: FBI details deeds of suspected ring

A group of “Call of Duty” players — including a man from Dolton and another from Bloomington — is suspected of stealing more than $3 million in cryptocurrency in a computer-hacking scheme, according to a court filing unsealed in Chicago.

The Bloomington man told the FBI he met members of the ring online while playing “Call of Duty,” the popular online video game in which players in different places can compete in simulated warfare and communicate with each other. He said they forced him to participate, according to an application for a warrant to search the Dolton man’s home this summer.

The Bloomington man told authorities that hackers intimidated him into participating by “SWATting” him — a term for calling police with a false report that a violent crime is occurring at someone’s home, prompting a response from a SWAT team.

Members of the theft ring gave him names, phone numbers and other information to allow him to take over cell phones of their…