WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - 19-year-old Yousef Selassie has been charged for stealing the identities and funds of more than 75 victims in 20 different states in the United States in SIM swapping.
'As alleged, in just 4 months he drained his victims of more than $1 million in cryptocurrency with little more than an iPhone and computer,' said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. while announcing the indictment.
Selassie was arrested in Corona, California. Numerous electronic devices and multiple pieces of custom-made jewelry purchased with bitcoin were recovered from his apartment in Brooklyn.
The filings in the court between January 20 and May 19, 2019 show that Selassie fraudulently ported the cell phone numbers of at least 75 individuals across the U.S. to multiple iPhones he possessed.
It was noticed that he then bypassed the two-factor authentication security to get access to online accounts of the victims. He did this by requesting the recovery codes sent to phone numbers connected to the online accounts. The phone numbers were by then controlled by him.
Selassie is alleged to have chosen victims who are active in cryptocurrency, partly due to the difficulty in tracing the theft and transfer of cryptocurrency.
He accessed online accounts belonging to the victims, including at least their Google Yahoo, and Dropbox accounts and finally the cryptocurrency accounts, and changed the passwords so that victims cannot get back the password in control again.
'SIM swapping' or 'SIM hijacking' is a growing crime in the telecommunications world that, in a few moments' time, can allow a thief to steal millions of dollars of an unsuspecting victim's assets. This can be done with little more than a persuasive plea for assistance, a willing telecommunications carrier representative, and an electronic impersonation of the victim.
SIM swapping attacks primarily target individuals who are visibly active in the cryptocurrency space, such as people working at cryptocurrency-focused companies, speakers at public conferences on blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, and those openly talk on their crypto investments on social media.
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