Phobos ransomware operator extradited to US$XRP $PEPE $SHIB

42-year-old Russian Evgeny Ptitsyn has appeared in a US court on charges of distributing and operating the Phobos ransomware. This was reported by the Ministry of Justice.

Ptitsyn, known by the nicknames derxan and zimmermanx, in addition to directly managing the malware, sold it on various hacker forums, creating a network of affiliates.

From December 2021 to 2024, about $16 million in ransoms from more than 1,000 victims around the world were transferred to the Russian's crypto wallets.

The accused was extradited to the United States from South Korea and placed in custody. Ptitsyn faces up to 35 years in prison for a total of 13 charges.

The US Treasury also brought charges against five alleged members of the Scattered Spider cybercrime group.

According to authorities, from September 2021 to April 2023, they stole “tens of millions of dollars” from cryptocurrency wallets using credentials stolen in SMS phishing attacks. Their victims were individuals and companies.

Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison on the combined charges, with one of them facing an additional 20 years for internet fraud.