A teenager in Canada is facing charges in connection to the theft of $50m worth of cryptocurrencies through a SIM-swapping scam.
Samy Bensaci is accused of having stolen the money from US victims as well as $300,000 from people in Canada.
He allegedly used what is called a SIM-swapping scam in which the hacker must first learn several personal details about the victim.
Bensaci is then accused of having used this information to convince cellphone operators into giving him control of the victim’s phones by pretending to be the victim. So when the operator sent authentication codes or tokens, they ended up in his possession, La Presse reported.
The alleged victims include the head of the Blockchain Research Institute.
The teenager has been released on bail and is under strict conditions, including not being allowed to leave his house without three members of his family.
Bensaci is also prohibited from accessing “any computer, tablet, mobile phone, game console, including PS3, PS4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or any other device capable of accessing the internet.”
The Sûreté du Québec confirmed to La Presse that its Economic Crime Investigation Service and its Forensic Identification Division have collaborated with the Toronto police on the case.
The young alleged hacker is suspected of being part of an active group of hackers who robbed dozens of people in North America in the spring of 2018.
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