US charges five individuals linked to ‘Scattered Spider’ crypto theft

Federal prosecutors have charged five alleged members of “Scattered Spider,” a hacking group accused of targeting companies and individuals in a spree of cyberattacks.

According to court documents unsealed Wednesday in California, the defendants allegedly stole sensitive data and at least $11 million in cryptocurrency between late 2021 and mid-2023.

According to Bloomberg, the group reportedly used tactics like phishing — posing as trusted entities via text to trick victims into sharing login credentials — and SIM swapping In SIM swapping, a hacker gains control of a victim’s phone number to bypass security and access accounts. 

Prosecutors said the hackers targeted company networks to steal confidential information and gain control of cryptocurrency accounts and wallets, according to Bloomberg.

Scattered Spider members 

Unlike many cybercrime groups often linked to countries like Russia or North Korea, Scattered Spider includes members based in the U.S. and U.K.

The defendants—Noah Urban, 20, of Florida; Joel Evans, 25, of North Carolina; Ahmed Elbadawy, 23, and Evans Osiebo, 20, of Texas; and Tyler Buchanan, 22, of Scotland—face charges tied to attacks on at least 29 individuals and several companies.

“This case demonstrates how a small group of individuals can cause enormous damage to businesses and individuals in a short time,” Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told Bloomberg.

The victims included telecommunications companies, IT outsourcing firms, and a cryptocurrency exchange.

Roughly $4 million in cryptocurrency has been recovered, but investigators are still assessing the total financial and data losses. Buchanan, who remains outside the U.S., was identified through domain registrations for fake websites used to deceive victims, court filings show.

Attorneys for most of the defendants were unavailable for comment. Urban, known as “Sosa” in the SIM-swapping community, pleaded guilty to related charges earlier this year, according to Bloomberg.