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DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

"In October 2018, Ross was a victim of SIM crime, a process in which hackers gain access to your cell phone by tricking a mobile carrier employee into rerouting a subscriber’s phone number to a hacker’s SIM card."

"According to US prosecutors, Truglia targeted San Francisco resident Robert Ross on October 26, successfully pulling off a SIM-swap and stealing a combined $1 million from both a Coinbase and Gemini account."

"SIM-swapping is an attack in which criminals call customer service representatives and ask to port a number to a new device. While often only temporary -- as victims will quickly notice their reception die and pursue the matter -- this window can give attackers the chance to circumvent two-factor authentication (2FA) security checks and access high-value accounts."

“I was sitting at my desk at my home, and I saw a withdrawal request notification,” said Ross. “I looked up from my phone to my computer, and I noticed that I was literally being logged out of my Gmail in real time.” Then, Ross looked back at his phone and saw that he lost service.

Ortiz stole more than $1 million from Ross after taking control of his cell phone and gaining access to his accounts on crypto exchanges. Ross says he never even heard of “SIM swapping” until he lost most of his bitcoin savings as a victim of the scheme.

"Truglia allegedly hacked the phones of Silicon Valley executives from his cushy West 42nd Street high-rise apartment."

"Ross was apparently Truglia’s one success, though officials allege that he went after a half dozen other Silicon Valley cryptocoin players, including Saswata Basu, CEO of the block-chain storage service 0Chain; Myles Danielsen, vice president of Hall Capital Partners; and Gabrielle Katsnelson, the co-founder of the startup SMBX."

"Erin West, the deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County in California, told reporters that 21-year-old Nicholas Truglia, of Manhattan, has agreed to be extradited. Santa Clara officials plan to pick him up in December. According to court documents, he’s been charged with 21 felony counts against six victims, including identity theft, fraud, embezzlement, crimes that “involve a pattern of related felony conduct,” and attempted grand theft."

"Truglia is being held at the Manhattan Detention Complex pending extradition to Santa Clara, Calif., where he faces 21 felony counts related to a total of six victims, officials said.

The allegations stem from a one-week hacking spree that started Oct. 8 and include charges of grand theft, altering or damaging computer data with the intent to defraud and using personal information without authorization."

“It’s a new way of doing an old crime,” said deputy DA Erin West of Santa Clara Superior Court to The Post. “It’s a pervasive problem, and it involves millions of dollars.”

"Ross watched helplessly on Oct. 26 as his phone went dark and $500,000 in a Coinbase account and another $500,000 in a Gemini account vanished in seconds. It was his daughters’ college fund — his entire life savings, West said."

In January 2019, several victims — including tech entrepreneur Robert Ross — launched an initiative called Stop SIM Crime to raise awareness of this growing phenomenon."

Ross is now pressuring cell phone providers to offer better resources to help victims and to educate them about prevention."

In a March 2019 interview, Rob Ross, discusses how he fell victim to a sim card swap attack that resulted in the theft of a million dollars from him. He explains that sim card swap attacks are often carried out through social engineering, where hackers trick customer service representatives into performing the swap. The hackers had access to Ross's Gmail, Dropbox, and two-factor authentication app, giving them control over various accounts. Ross also discusses the lack of resources for victims of sim card swap crimes, which led him to create StopSimCrime.org, an organization aimed at raising awareness, providing support to victims, and advocating for change in the telecommunications industry to prevent such attacks. He emphasizes the need for carriers to implement technical and administrative solutions to address this growing issue and calls for incentives to deter customer service representatives from engaging in fraudulent activities.

Rob Ross was a victim of a SIM card swap attack that led to the theft of one million dollars. These attacks involve hackers tricking mobile carrier employees into rerouting a victim's phone number to a hacker's SIM card. The hacker targeted Ross, stealing funds from his Coinbase and Gemini accounts, exploiting the temporary access to circumvent two-factor authentication security checks. Ross emphasized the need for awareness and resources for victims, leading to the creation of StopSimCrime.org. The perpetrator, Nicholas Truglia, faced extradition and 21 felony charges related to six victims, including identity theft and fraud. Ross pushed for improved prevention and support from cell phone providers.

From Hacking $4.1 Million to Prison | The IRL Money Doubler - YouTube (Jun 19)
From Hacking $4.1 Million to Prison | The IRL Money Doubler - YouTube (Jul 12)
Hacker Who Stole $5 Million By SIM Swapping Gets 10 Years in Prison (Oct 24)
Alleged 19-Year-Old SIM Swapper Used Stolen Bitcoin to Buy Luxury Cars (Oct 24)
Man hacked into Silicon Valley execs’ phones to steal cryptocurrency: cops (Oct 24)
Cops Arrest Infamous SIM Swapper Who Allegedly Stole $14 Million in Cryptocurrency (Oct 24)
https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-hacker-10-years-jail-7-5-million-sim-swap/ (Oct 24)
Sim Swapping Crypto Thief Lands 10 Years in Jail - Bitstarz News (Sep 11)
Interview with Rob Ross at RSAC 2019 - YouTube (Sep 11)
Former Apple Engineer Is The Victim Of A Million Dollar SIM Card Hack (Sep 11)
One man lost his life savings in a SIM hack. Here's how you can try to protect yourself | CNN Business (Sep 11)
Ross v. AT&T Mobility, LLC 4:2019cv06669 | US District Court for the Northern District of California | Justia (Sep 11)
SIM-swapping 21-year-old scores $1 million by hijacking a phone | ZDNET (Sep 11)
The phone went dark, then $1m was sucked out in SIM-swap crypto-heist – Naked Security (Sep 11)
Ross v AT&T Mobility, LLC (Sep 11)
One Bay Area man lost his life savings in a SIM hack. Here's how you can try to protect yourself (Sep 11)

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