Europol, the European police agency, said on Wednesday it had assisted in the arrest of 10 hackers suspected of stealing $100 million in cryptocurrency in as “SIM-swapping” attack that allowed suspects to gain access to their victims’ phones, reports Reuters.
“The attacks orchestrated by this criminal gang targeted thousands of victims throughout 2020, including famous internet influencers, sport stars, musicians and their families,” the agency said in a statement.
The arrests were made after an investigation with cooperation from Britain, the United States, Belgium, Malta and Canada, Europol said. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by John Stonestreet)
How can cryptocurrency be stolen?
Cryptocurrency is held in wallets and traded through digital currency exchanges like Coinbase. For example, Bitcoin users are assigned private keys, which allows access to their bitcoins. Hackers can infiltrate wallets and steal bitcoins if they know a user’s private key.
