A sixth member of international hacking group The Community has been sentenced in late November. The sentenced defendants were involved in total thefts ranging from approximately US$50,000 to over US$9 million.
Sim Hijacking Spree
Garrett Endicott, 22, of Warrensburg Missour, was the final defendant to be sentenced in the case, which was started in 2019. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of US$121,549.37.
HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris:
The illegal activities of The Community were thwarted as the result of a complex international cryptocurrency and identity theft investigation. As criminal organizations commonly use web-based schemes to further their illicit activities, this demonstrates how vulnerable our personal information can be, and the damage that can ensue when our information falls into the wrong hands.
SIM hijacking, also known as SIM swapping, is when an attacker steals your SIM card. This can happen by physically stealing the card, or by using social engineering to get your cell phone provider to switch your account to a phone under the attacker’s control.
Members of The Community engaged in Sim hijacking to steal cryptocurrency from victims across the country, including California, Missouri, Michigan, Utah, Texas, New York and Illinois.
Once the group had control of a phone number they used SMS-based two-factor authentication codes to log in and reset passwords to victims’ online accounts.