U.S. authorities used scattered spider technology to accuse five of them of hacking and stole $11 million (about Rs 9.28 crore). The stolen funds are in cryptocurrency and are known for their speed and relative anonymity in transactions. Defendant – Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, Noah Michael Urban, Evans Onyeaka Osiebo, Tyler Robert Buchanan and Joel Martin Evans, now on charges and further investigations are underway to assess the case.
The official announcement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the people were allegedly targeting malicious text messages. The purpose is to provide victims with funding and sensitive information.
“The defendant then logged in and stole data and information from non-public companies using the harvested employee certificate and hacked into a virtual currency account to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” the announcement said.
According to Cointelegraph, at least 29 victims of hacked prey spoke to law enforcement officers. The prosecutor’s claim reportedly shows that one victim lost more than US$6.3 million (about Rs 5.32 lakh) in cryptocurrency assets. The email and digital wallet of this particular victim were violated by hackers.
“According to court documents, the defendants conducted a phishing attack by sending quality text messages to the mobile phones of numerous employees of the victim company – a phishing attack that claimed to be messages or victims from the victim company, at least from September 2021 to April 2023. the company’s contract information technology or commercial service provider. “The document states.
The notice states that if convicted, each defendant could face more than 20 years of imprisonment. The FBI has been assigned to conduct further investigations.
In the United States and around the world, phishing and hacking incidents are increasing. U.S. authorities urge crypto communities to exercise caution and avoid interacting with unexpected or suspicious emails from unknown sources.
According to a report released by the FBI in September, crypto-related fraud increased by 45% in 2023, resulting in losses worth more than $5.6 billion (approximately Rs 470,299 crore).
