Documented List of Crypto-related SIM Swap Attacks

To prevent SIM swap attacks, we heavily recommend using open-source 2-factor authentication apps instead such as Aegis for Android, and Tofu for iOS.

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February 10, 2021

TEN HACKERS ARRESTED FOR STRING OF SIM-SWAPPING ATTACKS AGAINST CELEBRITIES

"The attacks orchestrated by this criminal gang targeted thousands of victims throughout 2020, including famous internet influencers, sport stars, musicians and their families. The criminals are believed to have stolen from them over USD 100 million in cryptocurrencies after illegally gaining access to their phones."

November 18, 2020

Dubliner Jailed Over $2m Cryptocurrency Theft

"An Irish cyber-thief has been jailed for his part in a SIM-swap conspiracy that robbed victims of their life savings.

Conor Freeman was identified by US Homeland Security as a member of a criminal group that stole over $2m worth of cryptocurrency from multiple victims in 2018."

May 2020

T-Mobile sued by victim who lost $450K in Bitcoin in SIM swap attack

"The incident at issue in the lawsuit occurred, according to Cheng, after a SIM-swap was successfully carried out in May 2020 against a T-Mobile customer and co-founder of crypto-focused investment fund Iterative Capital, Brandon Buchanan."

February 2020

Security Tips And Lessons Learned From My Hack

"Back in February I was the victim of a hacking attempt from a known hacker who targets public cryptocurrency holders. The past few days have been difficult, spending countless sleepless hours vigilantly changing passwords and getting my accounts and life locked down. It’s been a miserable experience, and one that I would not wish on my worst enemy (although I don’t have enemies)."

January 17, 2020

Teen Charged Over $50m SIM-Swapping Scam on Blockchain Experts

"A teenager from Montreal is facing four criminal charges in connection with a $50m SIM-swapping scam that targeted two renowned Canadian Blockchain experts. "

2020

Europol Arrests 10 for $100 Million Worth Crypto Theft

"Europol, the pan European police agency, has assisted in the arrest of a total of 10 cybercriminals who siphoned off $100 million in digital currencies using the so-called SIM-swapping technique."

October 12, 2019

How I Got SIM Swapped — and How to Protect Yourself

"Laura recounts the tale of how she got SIM swapped, what mistakes she made, and what she did to secure her accounts and get her phone number back."

May 9, 2019

SIM hijacking ring which stole millions in cryptocurrency dismantled by feds

"Laura recounts the tale of how she got SIM swapped, what mistakes she made, and what she did to secure her accounts and get her phone number back."

2019

Wave of SIM swapping attacks hit US cryptocurrency users

"Numerous members of the cryptocurrency community have been hit by SIM swapping attacks over the past week, ZDNet has learned, in what appears to be a coordinated wave of attacks."

October 2018

One man lost his life savings in a SIM hack. Here's how you can try to protect yourself

"San Francisco (CNN Business) - Robert Ross was sitting in his San Francisco home office in October 2018 when he noticed the bars on his phone had disappeared and he had no cell coverage. A few hours later, he had lost $1 million."

September 24, 2018

Two SIM swappers arrested for CMCT hack

"Childers and Harris stand accused of using a technique called SIM swapping to temporarily take over the phone number of another person --in this case of a Crowd Machine employee.

The two allegedly used this temporary access to steal hundreds of millions of Crowd Machine Compute Tokens (CMCTs) from the California-based startup."

August 17, 2018

Alleged SIM Swapper Arrested in California

"Authorities in Santa Clara, Calif. have arrested and charged a 19-year-old area man on suspicion hijacking mobile phone numbers as part of a scheme to steal large sums of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies."

August 2018

US resident who stole $150K in crypto through SIM-swapping has been charged

"Alabama resident has been charged in a SIM-swap hack, targeting victims to steal over $150,000 worth of cryptocurrency. According to local news, authorities alleged that the resident is a 22-year-old man named Joseph Chase Oaks who now faces a string of charges."

July 18, 2018

Florida Man Arrested in SIM Swap Conspiracy

"Police in Florida have arrested a 25-year-old man accused of being part of a multi-state cyber fraud ring that hijacked mobile phone numbers in online attacks that siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from victims."

May 2018

Irish Man Gets 3 Years in Prison for Stealing $2.5M in Crypto Through SIM Hacks

"Michael Terpin was hit by the attack on January 7, 2018, days after bitcoin reached its record high price. Thieves stole roughly 1,500 bitcoins by taking control of his phone number and using Google's "Forgot password?" feature to gain access to his email."

January 7, 2018

One cryptocurrency investor reportedly lost $24 million worth of bitcoin in a SIM swap attack

2018

AT&T dragged to court, again, over SIM hijacking and cryptocurrency theft

"Seth Shapiro, an advisor in business and technology, claims that his "life savings" were stolen after an AT&T employee facilitated the transfer of a phone number to a hacker's control. "

July 23, 2017

Veritaseum Accuses T-Mobile of Gross Negligence Over $8.6M SIM-Swap Hack

"Veritaseum is suing the U.S.’ third-largest phone carrier for failing to prevent a hack that led to the loss of millions of dollars-worth of cryptocurrency."

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