The attack targeted the accounts of famous people such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Barack Obama.
San Francisco:
U.S. prosecutors said on Friday they had indicted three people, including one from Britain, for playing a role in hijacking celebrity Twitter accounts and trapping money.
The US attorney’s office in California said Mason “Chaewon” Sheppard, 19, of Great Britain and Nima Fazeli, 22, of Florida, faced criminal charges in the case.
Details of the third person were not disclosed by US officials, but Florida state prosecutors separately announced criminal charges against a 17-year-old accused of orchestrating the massive Twitter user hack high level.
The Twitter attack involved a combination of “technical and social engineering breaches” that allowed hackers to hijack the accounts of politicians, celebrities and musicians, according to federal prosecutors.
The three defendants are accused of hacking Twitter accounts, creating a fraudulent Bitcoin account and sending impostor tweets from a hacked account offering to double cryptocurrency deposits.
“This case is a prime example of how money tracking, international collaboration and public-private partnerships can work to end a criminal enterprise perceived to be anonymous,” said Kelly Jackson, Special Agent for IRS criminal investigation.
Florida state prosecutors said they filed 30 charges against a 17-year-old Florida resident whom they described as the “mastermind” of the cyberattack.
The you, arrested in Tampa, will be tried as an adult in Florida, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said.
The attack, which Twitter said was the result of a “phone phishing” attack, allowed hackers to take over the accounts of famous people such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and former US President Barack Obama and dupe people to send bitcoin.
“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they are not the primary victims here,” Warren said in a statement.
“This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from ordinary Americans across the country.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
