RATE Group | SIM-Swapping Bitcoin Thief Charged in California Court
37214
wp-singular,post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-37214,single-format-standard,wp-theme-bridge,wp-child-theme-bridge-child,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode_grid_1300,side_area_uncovered_from_content,footer_responsive_adv,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,qode-theme-ver-13.3,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.9,vc_responsive
 

SIM-Swapping Bitcoin Thief Charged in California Court

01 Aug SIM-Swapping Bitcoin Thief Charged in California Court

Posted at 00:11h in Bitcoin News by

[ad_1]

Investigators have arrested and charged a 20-year-old college student with multiple counts of hacking and identity theft. Prosecutors accuse him of being part of a gang which stole $5 million of cryptocurrency by hijacking mobile phone numbers. 

Caught by the Fuzz

Following his arrest at LAX airport while on his way to Europe, Joel Ortiz was apparently quick to come clean. He told investigators that he and his “co-conspirators” controlled millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

Ortiz, originally from Boston, allegedly hijacked over 40 phone numbers using a technique known as SIM swapping. It is the first known case against a person using this kind of attack — also known as a ‘port out scam’.

The Weakest Link

Considering the scale of the potential consequences, the scam is supposedly rather easy to perform. It involves calling the service provider and convincing them that you have lost your SIM card. Once they have confirmed your identity, they will transfer the number…

[ad_2]

Source link