The British national responsible for hacking into and impersonating high-profile individuals as part of a crypto theft scheme has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Back in 2020, there was a scam that caught the attention of social media, the authorities, and plenty of victims alike. The scam involved a number of very prominent social media accounts – including Twitter – where crypto was promised if the potential victim would first send some crypto themselves. I covered this scam back then due to its relevance to individuals and businesses alike.
The social engineering value through the use of legitimate well-known and well-followed social media accounts is all that a threat actor needs to trick victims into engaging with, and following the malicious instructions to the detriment of the victim user.
U.S. officials identified and extradited Joseph James O’Connor, aka PlugwalkJoe, from Spain earlier this year to face charges of the impersonation scam previously mentioned, a SIM-swap scam where he gained unauthorized access to several accounts, blackmailing the legitimate owners of several social media accounts, and cyber intrusion into a cryptocurrency exchange where he reportedly stole nearly $800,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice press release, O’Conner pled guilty to all counts, and was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $794,000.
