Crypto Hacker PlugwalkJoe Gets 5 Years In Prison
Seeing the rise of hacks and scams in crypto, do you think bad actors will get away with stolen crypto assets? Joseph O’Connor, a British hacker who is also known as PlugwalkJoe, got his punishment and has been sentenced to five years in prison in the United States.
Joseph launched a sim swap attack on a crypto exchange executive and stole $794,000 worth of cryptocurrencies in 2019. Then the hacker transferred cryptocurrency and made different transactions. Some of the stolen cryptos were deposited to a crypto exchange that is controlled by the hacker Joseph O’Connor.
This attacker got arrested in Spain in July 2021 and then sent back to the United States on April 26, 2023. He along with other bad actors committed different crimes. He hacked and got access to more than 130 popular Twitter accounts. Not only that, but he also managed to compromise TikTok and Snapchat.
He usually applied social engineering techniques and SIM swap attacks. He made targeted people fall into his trap. He also threatened the victims to expose private their chats and made them lose more financially. Literally, he blackmailed the victims to get things done.
SIM swap attack is a serious issue. The attackers somehow link the victim's SIM to another SIM that they control and take control of the victim's SIM. Then the attackers get messages and notifications. They use this SIM to gain access to the victim's account using SIM two-factor authentication.
Hacker Joseph managed to hack and steal $794,000 through a SIM swap attack on the crypto exchange executive. Now he has to pay the price in prison and return the stolen crypto assets. The hacker hurts himself by getting involved in crimes.
Probably bad actors think they can live their dream life destroying others' life. They can see the money and wealth, but they will not get peace and end up being in prison if get caught. Secure your crypto assets and don't fall for the scammers' traps. Watch out and stay safe.
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