SIM Swapper Abducted, Beaten, Held for $200k Ransom
Summary: A Florida teenager known in SIM-swapping circles as "Foreshadow" was kidnapped and beaten on Sept. 15, and his captors held guns to his head while forcing him to record a video pleading with his crew to pay a $200,000 ransom. The alleged mastermind, a SIM-swapper using the handle "Gus," confirmed to KrebsOnSecurity that he ordered the attack because the holder had held back some of his stolen funds, and the teen is now reportedly cooperating with the FBI.
Why it matters: SIM-swapping has moved from account takeover to kidnapping for ransom, with a "violence-as-a-service" market where members hire out firebombings, drive-by shootings and home invasions - and the FBI has already charged one man, Patrick McGovern-Allen, over such jobs.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
- Data Breaches
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