Three Charged for Attempted SIM-Swap Heist of $400 Million from FTX
The US Justice Department has charged three individuals for attempting to steal $400 million from FTX through SIM-swap fraud. The indictment states that between March 2021 and April 2023, Carter Rohn, Emily Hernandez, and Robert Powell carried out SIM-swapping attacks targeting several victims.
Cracking Down on the FTX SIM-Swap Heist
A SIM swap attack involves fraudulently convincing a carrier to transfer a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber’s SIM card to one controlled by a criminal. According to Bloomberg, FTX was one of the victims identified as “Victim Company-1” in the filing.
Hackers Charged with Identity Theft
A report from blockchain security firm Elliptic confirms that FTX is the “Victim Company-1” mentioned in the indictment. Unauthorized transactions totaling $400 million were made on FTX’s crypto wallets shortly after it filed for bankruptcy. The hackers laundered some of the stolen funds through the crypto exchange Kraken.
Hot Take: Better Security Measures Needed to Protect Users’ Assets
The three fraudsters have been charged with identity theft and wire fraud conspiracy. This resolves the mystery surrounding the disappearance of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency after FTX’s bankruptcy filing. However, there is a need for improved security measures to safeguard users’ assets, as sim-swapping has become a popular technique among attackers. In 2023, high-profile crypto users and even the US SEC fell victim to this tactic.
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