Security News > 2022 > October > Cybercriminals jailed for cryptocurrency theft, death threats
Harrington and Meiggs were charged in November 2019 for targeting at least ten victims in SIM swapping attacks and, in some cases, with death threats.
According to the court documents, they allegedly stole $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency in one go from an Arizona resident who "Publicly communicated with cryptocurrency experts online," while $100,000 were swiped from a victim in California with close ties to someone who "Operated a blockchain-based business."
Identifying potential victims who likely had significant amounts of cryptocurrency and researching the potential victims using online tools.
Leveraging the victims' hijacked phone numbers to gain unauthorized access to their online accounts, including email accounts, social media accounts, and cryptocurrency accounts.
Using their access to victims' accounts to take over and steal their account handles and their cryptocurrency.
Using victims' hacked online accounts to ask for money and cryptocurrency from victims' friends and families.