Scattered Spider SMS phishing and SIM-swap crypto theft campaign
Campaign
Summary
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The Scattered Spider campaign used SMS phishing and SIM swap attacks to steal employee credentials, hijack phone numbers, and take over email and virtual currency wallets across at least a dozen companies. The operation, active from September 2021 to April 2023, relied on fake login pages to capture credentials and personal information before turning access into theft and account compromise. Prosecutors say the activity caused at least $8 million in cryptocurrency losses and showed a coordinated social-engineering effort across multiple sectors. Recent court action added that Tyler Robert Buchanan, described as a British man believed to lead the group, pleaded guilty in the United States to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the same crypto-theft case.
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Timeline
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20.04.2026 16:33 3 articles · 2mo ago
Tyler Robert Buchanan pleads guilty in U.S. crypto-theft case
Legal Policy Action UpdateTyler Robert Buchanan, a British man believed to lead Scattered Spider, pleaded guilty in the United States to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after prosecutors said he and four other suspects stole at least $8 million in cryptocurrency from at least a dozen companies using SMS phishing and SIM swap attacks. The scheme used fake login pages to capture employee credentials and personal information, then hijacked email accounts, phone numbers, and virtual currency wallets; Buchanan is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21, 2026.
Show sources
- British Scattered Spider hacker pleads guilty to crypto theft charges — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 20.04.2026 16:33
- British Scattered Spider hacker pleads guilty to crypto theft charges — www.bleepingcomputer.com — 20.04.2026 16:33
- Feds Tie ‘Scattered Spider’ Duo to $115M in Ransoms — krebsonsecurity.com — 24.09.2025 14:48