US Seeks $5M in Bitcoin Over SIM Swap Attacks

The US Justice Department seeks a claim of 5 million dollars in bitcoin stolen through SIM swap fraud against victims across the nation.

US officials have presented a civil forfeiture complaint to seize more than $5 million-worth of Bitcoin (BTC) connected to SIM swap scams. 

The Justice Department claims that the money was stolen by five victims in the US using SIM swapping attacks that took place between October 2022 and March 2023. 

This case underscores the increasing risk of stealing cryptocurrency through the process of hijacking mobile numbers, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

SIM swapping is the technique that is employed by crooks to assume control of a phone number of a victim. They divert the number of the victim to a SIM card that they can control. 

This also allows them to intercept authentication codes that are being transmitted through SMS. Attackers gain access to the crypto wallets of victims using these codes and withdraw stolen funds into accounts they operate.

Tracing $5 Million in Stolen Bitcoin

The Justice Department complaint demonstrates the manner in which the stolen Bitcoin was transferred between various cryptocurrency wallets. 

The money was later combined into a single wallet, which financed an online casino account at Stake.com. 

The authorities detected at least 32 circular transactions between March 20 and March 22, 2023, which consisted of recurring deposits and withdrawals. 

This money laundering method had obscured the source of stolen Bitcoins and would have made them look legitimate.

The investigation of the DOJ reveals the advanced methods of the layering of illicit cryptocurrency employed by criminals. 

Brett D. Skiles, Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office of the FBI, said that this case was a continuation of larger operations against cybercrime networks using digital assets.

DOJ Escalating the War on Crypto Crime.

These civil forfeiture suits are part of the increased efforts of the DOJ in cryptocurrency fraud. 

Since 2020, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the DOJ has charged and convicted over 180 cybercriminals and assisted victims in recovering over 350 million dollars.

 In the recent past, the DOJ confiscated 225 million of Tether (USDT) pegged against investment schemes.

Financial crime with digital assets is actively being pursued by the Justice Department as the number of losses increases significantly. 

According to the FBI, crypto fraud losses have risen 66 percent between 2023 and 2024, with nearly 200,000 victims reporting claims of more than 9 billion. 

The case is a good indicator that the US government is determined to break down even more sophisticated crypto crime.