ICE HSI investigation imprisons & restitutes hacking group members for stealing millions in cryptocurrency
#US; #CyberCrimes; #FinancialCrimes
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Detroit/Canadian-Media: A sixth member of an international hacking group known to its members as “The Community” case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents with the assistance of Irish law enforcement authorities and was sentenced yesterday in connection with a multi-million-dollar SIM Hijacking conspiracy, HSI reports said.
The announcement was made by acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Saima Mohsin and acting HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris.
“The illegal activities of ‘The Community” were thwarted as the result of a complex international cryptocurrency and identity theft investigation,” said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris. “As criminal organizations commonly use web-based schemes to further their illicit activities, this demonstrates how vulnerable our personal information can be, and the damage that can ensue when our information falls into the wrong hands.”
Garrett Endicott, 22, of Warrensburg Missouri, after pleading guilty previously was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison and pay restitution in the amount of $121,549.37.
“SIM Hijacking” or “SIM Swapping” is an identity theft technique that exploits mobile phone numbers by which “The Community” gained control of victims’ mobile phone numbers, resulting in the victims’ phone calls and short message service (SMS) messages being routed to devices controlled by “The Community.”
SIM Hijacking was used by members of “The Community” to steal cryptocurrency — virtual currencies or digital currencies, are online media of exchange — from victims across the country, including California, Missouri, Michigan, Utah, Texas, New York, and Illinois. The most famous of these is Bitcoin. Like…