The attack focused accounts of famed folks these types of as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Barack Obama.

San Francisco:

US prosecutors on Friday announced they have charged three people today, just one of them from Britain, for roles in hijacking movie star Twitter accounts and tricking people out of dollars.

The US attorney’s workplace in California mentioned 19-12 months-previous Mason “Chaewon” Sheppard of Britain along with Nima Fazeli, 22, of Florida had been dealing with legal rates in the scenario.

Facts about the 3rd personal were not launched by US officers, but point out prosecutors in Florida individually introduced felony fees versus a 17-yr-previous accused of masterminding the massive hack of significant-profile Twitter users.

The attack on Twitter included a mixture of “technological breaches and social engineering” that allow hackers hijack accounts of politicians, famous people, and musicians, according to federal prosecutors.

The three defendants are accused of hacking Twitter accounts, developing a scam Bitcoin account, and sending out imposter tweets from hijacked account giving to double cryptocurrency deposits.

“This circumstance serves as a terrific case in point of how next the funds, intercontinental collaboration, and community-non-public partnerships can get the job done to successfully get down a perceived nameless legal business,” explained IRS legal investigation particular agent Kelly Jackson.

State Prosecutors in Florida reported they submitted 30 felony counts against a 17-calendar year-aged Florida resident they described as the “mastermind” of the cyberattack.

The you, arrested in Tampa, will be tried as an adult in Florida, Hillsborough Condition Legal professional Andrew Warren claimed.

The assault which Twitter reported resulted from a “cell phone spear phishing” attack enabled hackers to take handle of accounts of popular individuals such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and former US president Barack Obama and dupe folks into sending Bitcoin.

“These crimes were being perpetrated employing the names of popular people today and superstars, but they’re not the most important victims right here,” Warren reported in a launch.

“This ‘Bit-Con’ was built to steal income from standard Us residents from all in excess of the region.”

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