An alleged teen crook stole the identities of 75 people and swiped $1 million in cryptocurrency
Once the cryptocurrency market is thriving, frauds are continually appearing. 2019 can be considered a bumper year for cryptocurrency crimes. From old to young, everyone can become a victim … or even fraud when greed arises.
Teen crook hacked into 75 phones and stole $ 1M in cryptocurrency
Recently, a teenage fraudster was arrested on charges of stealing the identities of 75 people. Through this crime, he earned 1 million dollars in cryptocurrency. Surprisingly, the scammer only spent about five months in his Brooklyn apartment and freely cheated on everyone’s money.
Yousef Selassie walks into his Wednesday arraignment at Manhattan Supreme Court | Image via NYPost
This scammer is named Yousef Selassie, 19 years old. Selassie implemented the plan that used a sophisticated SIM-swapping scheme to take over the phones of people in 20 different states between Jan. 20 and May 19, 2019.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Selassie allegedly transferred the victim’s phone number to his iPhone, allowing him to reset his password and gain access to their Gmail, cryptocurrency, and other accounts. Meanwhile, the victim’s phone will suddenly turn off.
The theft of $ 1 million came from just two victims, authorities said. Selassie was arrested December 5 in Corona, California, and extradited to New York.
He was charged on Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he pleaded not guilty to 87 major offenses, identity theft, and other allegations. Justice Mark Dwyer ordered him to give up his passport and check weekly with a supervised release program, not bail.
Authorities enforced a search warrant for Selassie’s Brooklyn and California properties. And they confiscated half a dozen iPhones, two Rolex watches, Gucci wallets, and loads of luxury jewelry.
Hack, the scam of 2019 increased by 150%
According to the latest CipherTrace report, the losses caused by cryptocurrency crimes (whose primary revenue is from cryptocurrencies) reached $ 4.4 billion in the first nine months of 2019.
The year 2019 has not ended, but this number has increased by 150% compared to the total loss of 2018. Last year, only $ 1.7 billion was lost to the hands of cryptocurrency criminals.
Cryptocurrencies were stolen, hacked, scam over 2017, 2018, 2019 | Source: CipherTrace
Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, said:
“The 150% increase indicates that criminals are getting more and more malicious.”
Prices may fall, ICO investments may be less “hot” but there is definitely one thing that is always constant: scams, attacks, hacks of money in the cryptocurrency market.
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