US Federal Prosecutors Charge Five Individuals Involved in Long-Running Phishing and Hacking Scheme
Federal prosecutors in the United States have charged five individuals for their alleged involvement in a complex phishing and hacking operation that targeted employees of various companies across the country.
The scheme, which lasted nearly two years from September 2021 to April 2023, resulted in the theft of intellectual property, sensitive corporate data, and millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, including a significant $6.3 million stolen from a single victim. According to authorities, the defendants used mass text messages as their primary method to deceive victims, appearing as urgent alerts from employees’ companies or service providers warning that their accounts were at risk of deactivation.
Recipients were then directed to fake websites designed to resemble legitimate corporate portals. Unsuspecting employees who entered their credentials on these websites provided the hackers with the information needed to breach internal systems. Prosecutors allege that the stolen data was used to access crypto accounts and steal millions in virtual assets.
The defendants have been identified as Ahmed Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, 23, of College Station, Texas; Noah Michael Urban, 20, of Palm Coast, Florida; Evans Onyeaka Osiebo, 20, of Dallas, Texas; Joel Martin Evans, 25, of Jacksonville, North Carolina; and Tyler Robert Buchanan, 22, from the United Kingdom.
The group faces several charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, the group faces up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy and wire fraud charges and a mandatory two-year sentence for identity theft. This case highlights the increasing sophistication of phishing and hacking tactics and the importance of staying vigilant for both individuals and companies in the crypto space.
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