Poland arrests four in FBI-backed SIM-swap crypto theft

Polish authorities, with support from U.S. federal agencies, have arrested four individuals accused of orchestrating a sophisticated SIM-swapping scheme to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. The arrests were carried out by Poland’s Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) in a coordinated operation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations.

All four suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention and face charges including participation in an organized criminal group, theft by unauthorized access to computer systems, and money laundering. If convicted, they could face up to 25 years in prison under Polish law. The case is being supervised by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Krakow.

According to investigators, the group used a combination of technical intrusions and social engineering to compromise the IT infrastructure of organizations that work with telecommunications operators. This access allegedly allowed them to obtain employee credentials and perform fraudulent SIM swaps, a technique where a victim’s mobile phone number is transferred to a SIM card controlled by the attacker. With control of the phone number, the...