cryptocurrency

DA: ‘SIM Swapping’ NYC-Based Identity Thief Stole $1M in Cryptocurrency – NBC New York


What to Know

  • A 19-year-old Brooklyn man is accused of stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency in a “sophisticated ‘SIM swapping'” identity theft scheme, prosecutors say.
  • Yousef Selassie is charged with identity theft, grand larceny, computer trespass, computer tampering and scheme to defraud, among other charges, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. announced Wednesday
  • “SIM swapping” refers to a scam in which a thief transfers a victim’s phone number to a phone owned by the thief, prosecutors say

A 19-year-old Brooklyn man is accused of stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency in a “sophisticated ‘SIM swapping'” identity theft scheme, prosecutors say.

Yousef Selassie is charged with identity theft, grand larceny, computer trespass, computer tampering and scheme to defraud, among other charges, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. announced Wednesday.

Attorney information for Selassie was not immediately known.

“SIM swapping” refers to a scam in which a thief transfers a victim’s phone number to a phone owned by the thief, prosecutors say. Once the phone number is transferred to the thief’s phone, that person can then receive or place calls and send text messages using the stolen number. They can then circumvent text-based two-factor authentication security measures and intercept text messages containing security codes needed to reset passwords and access the victim’s online accounts, including cryptocurrency accounts.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, between Jan. 20 and May 19, Selassie fraudulently transferred the cell phone numbers of at least 75 different individuals across the United States, including New York County, to Apple iPhones in his possession. He then, allegedly, circumvented two-factor authentication security measures to access the victims’ online accounts by requesting that recovery codes be texted to the phone numbers already associated with those online accounts – phone numbers which he now controlled.

Selassie accessed the victims’ online accounts, including but not limited to Gmail, Yahoo, and Dropbox, in order to determine whether the victims maintained cryptocurrency accounts, prosecutors say. In some instances, he also changed the passwords on accounts to prevent the victims from regaining control.

Allegedly, Selassie intentionally selected and targeted victims known to be active in cryptocurrency, due in part to the inherent difficulty in tracing its theft and transfer.

In total, Selassie accessed accounts belonging to victims in 20 different states — eventually stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.

Upon executing a search warrant at his Brooklyn residence, investigators allegedly recovered numerous electronic devices and a handwritten note containing a seed phrase for a cryptocurrency wallet.

Additionally, a search of an Apple iPhone X allegedly revealed artifacts tying Selassie to a number of known victims, while a search of the reconstituted wallet connected him to the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.

Selassie was eventually arrested in Corona, California.

“From his Brooklyn apartment, this defendant accessed accounts belonging to 75 victims in 20 different states,” said District Attorney Vance. “As alleged, in just 4 months he drained his victims of more than $1 million in cryptocurrency with little more than an iPhone and computer. “

The district attorney’s office urges that if you or someone you know is a victim of SIM swapping, to contact its Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau at (212) 335-9600, or emailing danycybertips@gmail.com.





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