Security News > 2022 > December > SIM swapper gets 18-months for involvement in $22 million crypto heist

SIM swapper gets 18-months for involvement in $22 million crypto heist
2022-12-03 16:15

Florida man Nicholas Truglia was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday for his involvement in a fraud scheme that led to the theft of millions from cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin.

The funds were stolen following a January 2018 SIM swap attack that allowed Truglia's co-conspirators to hijack Terpin's phone number and fraudulently transfer roughly $23.8 million in cryptocurrency from his crypto wallet to an online account under Truglia's control.

The restitution order says $12.1 million is due to be paid before December 31, and $8,279 million is payable on or before January 30.

Ellis Pinsky, the SIM swap gang's suspected 15-year-old leader, reached a deal with Terpin in November and was ordered to pay the investor $22 million.

SIM swapping enables criminals to take control of a target's phone number with the help of bribed employees or by convincing their mobile carriers to swap the number to an attacker-controlled SIM card using social engineering.

In early February, the FBI warned that criminals had escalated SIM swap attacks to steal millions from unsuspecting victims by hijacking their phone numbers.


News URL

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/sim-swapper-gets-18-months-for-involvement-in-22-million-crypto-heist/