US authorities have charged five people with using the Scattered Spider technique to hack multiple businesses and steal $11 million (about Rs 92.8 crore). The stolen funds were in cryptocurrency, known for its speed and relative anonymity in transactions. The accused — Ahmed Hossam Alden Elbadawi, Noah Michael Urban, Evans Onyaka Osebo, Tyler Robert Buchanan, and Joel Martin Evans — are now facing charges, pending further investigation to review the case.

An official announcement shared by the US Attorney’s office said the men were allegedly targeting corporate employees through malicious text messages. Its purpose was to phish victims for funds and sensitive information.

“The defendants then used the compromised employee credentials to log in and hack into virtual currency accounts to steal unofficial company data and information and steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.” The announcement said.

According to Coin TelegraphAt least 29 victims of hackers have spoken to law enforcement officials. Claims made by prosecutors allegedly show that one victim lost more than $6.3 million (roughly Rs. 53.2 lakh) in crypto assets. This particular victim’s email and digital wallet were compromised by the hacker.

“According to court documents, from at least September 2021 through April 2023, the defendants conducted phishing attacks by sending mass short message service (SMS) text messages to the mobile phones of employees of multiple victim companies – messages directed at the victim company. were from or the affected company’s contracted information technology or business services provider,” the document said.

Each defendant could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the note said. The FBI has been assigned to further investigate.

Phishing and hacking incidents have increased in the US and globally. US authorities have urged the crypto community to exercise caution and avoid interacting with unexpected or suspicious emails from unknown sources.

According to one Report According to the FBI, which was released in September, crypto-related frauds increased by 45 percent in 2023 resulting in losses of $5.6 billion (approximately Rs. 47,029 crore).