Jordan Dave Persad and his members pulled out a SIM-swapping plan to drain victims of up to a million dollars in cryptocurrencies.
For his part in a SIM-swapping crypto fraud operation that duped many people, 20-year-old Jordan Dave Persad from Orlando, Florida was recently sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to SIM switching to commit crypto fraud. In this tactic, the fraudster poses as the victim’s telecoms provider in order to steal the victim’s phone number and use it on a SIM card under the fraudster’s control. If two-factor authentication is tied to the victim’s phone number, they will then be able to access all of the victim’s accounts. Due to the huge value stored in them and the permanent nature of blockchain transactions, cryptocurrency accounts might be highly tempting to criminals.
In the instance of Persad, he and his members broke into his victims’ email accounts via a coordinated hacking effort. They then carried out the SIM switch, which gave them access to the victims’ crypto wallets without their knowledge or consent. According to reports, Persad and his cohorts stole a whopping $1 million worth of digital currency from a small number of victims. One Arizona resident was one of the unfortunate victims who lost over $30,000.
The participants of this fraud ring then split the loot among themselves. The amount of money that Persad received from this illegal haul was over half a million dollars.
After receiving word of this incident, the FBI acted swiftly to investigate. A large sum of the stolen money was found during an exhaustive search of Persad’s Orlando home. The evidence against him was strengthened greatly by this recovery effort.
He was then brought before U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa for an arraignment hearing. On the accusation of conspiring to commit computer fraud, Persad entered a plea of “Guilty” in court. In addition to his 30-month jail sentence, he must also pay $945,833 in restitution. After spending his time in prison, he will be subject to three years of supervised release as a form of deterrence and to make sure he continues on the right track.
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