Bitcoin News and Finance
Europol Arrests 10 Members of a Sim Swapping Criminal Gang That Stole Cryptocurrencies Worth $100 Million Skip to main content

Europol Arrests 10 Members of a Sim Swapping Criminal Gang That Stole Cryptocurrencies Worth $100 Million

Europol Arrests 10 Members of a Sim Swapping Criminal Gang That Stole Cryptocurrencies Worth $100 Million

The European law enforcement agency, Europol, has arrested 10 people believed to be members of the criminal gang that stole cryptocurrencies with an estimated value of $100 million. The arrests follow an international investigation into a series of sim swapping attacks that occurred in 2020. According to Europol, this criminal gang had also targeted high-profile victims that are based in the U.S.

The Hijacking of Mobile Devices

In a statement following the arrests, the law enforcement agency explains that eight members of the gang were nabbed on Feb. 9. The two other members, one from Malta and the other from Belgium, had been arrested earlier. As the statement explains, thousands of victims including “famous internet influencers, sports stars, musicians and their families” have been targeted by the sim swapping gang.

Meanwhile, in a brief explanation of how the criminal network operated, the law enforcement agency says:

The investigation uncovered how a network composed of a dozen criminals worked together to access the victims’ phone numbers and take control of their apps or accounts by changing the passwords. This enabled them to steal money, cryptocurrencies and personal information, including contacts synced with online accounts.

The agency’s investigation, which is a joint effort involving five countries, finds that these criminals were also “hijacking social media accounts to post content and send messages.”

Avoid Becoming a Victim

In the meantime, Europol also revealed that sim swapping crimes are now identified “as a key trend on the rise in the latest Europol Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment.” Consequently, the agency is reminding all potential targets of this type of crime that “anyone and everyone with a mobile phone can fall victim.”

To avoid becoming a victim, Europol is advising mobile phone users to keep their “devices’ software up to date” as well as not to reply to “suspicious emails or engage over the phone with callers that request your personal information.” Additionally, mobile phone users are encouraged to “limit the amount of personal data they share online and to use two-factor authentication for online services.”

Do you agree that sim swapping is a rising criminal threat? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory