Authorities Arrest SIM Swapping Gang that Targeted Celebrities

Eight men were arrested across England and Scotland this week as part of a coordinated crackdown against a SIM swapping gang that has hijacked the identities and social media profiles of US celebrities. From a report: The UK National Crime Agency, which made the arrests on Tuesday, said the gang targeted well-known sports stars, musicians, and influencers, primarily located in the US. “These arrests follow earlier ones in Malta (1) and Belgium (1) of other members belonging to the same criminal network,” Europol, which coordinated the multi-national investigation, said today. Officials said this gang engaged in SIM swapping attacks, where they tricked US mobile operators into assigning a celebrity’s phone number to a new SIM card under the attacker’s control. While they had access to the victim’s phone number, the SIM swappers would reset passwords and bypass two-factor authentication on the victim’s accounts. “This enabled them to steal money, bitcoin and personal information, including contacts synced with online accounts,” the NCA said. Europol said the gang stole more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency using this method