The British scammer admitted to taking over dozens of well-known Twitter accounts, including profiles of Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk and many more. In this way, he extorted significant funds, and now he faces many years in prison.
A British scammer has scammed millions of people by impersonating celebrities on Twitter. The attacker acted very simply, so it is strange how effectively he managed to deceive Internet users.
Fraudster hacked Obama, Musk and Biden - extorted millions of zlotys
A certain Joseph O’Connor was captured some time ago in Spain at the request of the FBI. Last month, the extradition process to New York was completed. Now the offender has pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him by American law enforcement agencies.
We are talking about massive online fraud, harassment of young victims, money laundering and other cybercrimes. However, the most impressive feat of the British is the attack on 130 celebrity Twitter accounts and takeover of them through social engineering. He then used 45 of them to extort cryptocurrencies.
Among the accounts seized in 2020, the 23-year-old lists accounts held by Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Bill Gates, investor Warren Buffett and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Interestingly, the Briton used the accounts for an extremely simple scam, a variant of the so-called. Nigerian scam. Posing as a popular person, he wrote that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this celebrity decided to “pay back the community and double all crypto payments that will be credited to his account.”
Thus, the victims sent about $800,000 or over PLN 3.3 million to O’Connor’s digital wallet. Following a high-profile takeover of the accounts, Twitter has frozen access to them until the rightful owners regain control.
Twitter scammer faces life in prison
The official sentencing will take place on June 23, 2023, but we already know what awaits the arrested fraudster. Prosecutors are demanding that the 23-year-old return all the stolen funds to his victims.
But it will be especially hard behind bars. The maximum prison term for O’Connor’s alleged actions is a whopping 77 years in prison. Although the offender is still very young, such a high penalty would mean almost life imprisonment for him.
Source: Wprost
I have been working as a news website writer for over 10 years. I have also authored several books on technology news. I am highly knowledgeable in the field of technology and enjoy sharing my insights with others. I am an active user of LinkedIn and use it to connect with other professionals in my field. I am always interested in learning new things and sharing my knowledge with others.
