The European police department announced the arrest of 10 hackers, who are suspected of stealing $100 million worth of cryptocurrency by hacking phones.
This is stated in a statement by Europol.
“A total of 8 criminals were arrested on 9 February as a result of an international investigation into a series of SIM swap attacks targeting famous people in the United States. These arrests followed the arrests in Malta and Belgium of other members of the same criminal network,” in the message.
During 2020, attacks by this criminal group targeted thousands of people, including prominent internet bloggers, sports stars, musicians, and their families.
The criminals are believed to have stolen over $100 million in cryptocurrency from them by illegally gaining access to their phones.
An investigation, launched in the spring of 2020, showed how a network of a dozen criminals gained access to victims’ phone numbers and control over their apps or accounts by changing passwords.
This allowed them to steal money, cryptocurrency, and personal information, including contacts synchronized with online accounts.
They also took control of social media accounts to post content and send messages, masquerading as the victim.
