A group of Call of Duty players - one from Dolton and another from Bloomington - are suspected of hacking into computers and stealing more than $3 million in cryptocurrency, according to a criminal complaint filed in Chicago.
The Bloomington suspect told the FBI that he met his future gang members while playing Call of Duty, a popular computer game in which players can compete and socialize. According to him, he did not want to participate in this operation, but the hackers intimidated him and forced him to cooperate.
Gang members gave him a list of names, phone numbers and other information with which he could gain access to the victims' mobile phones. According to the FBI statement, the suspect admitted to the fact that he helped hack more than a hundred phones. Once the group gained access to the phone, its members began emptying the victim's cryptocurrency account.
According to the FBI, the group is suspected of stealing at least $3.3 million in cryptocurrency. The suspects converted the stolen funds into ether or bitcoin and then transferred them to personal digital wallets.
On Aug. 1, FBI agents searched the Dolton suspect's home and seized computers and cellphones, according to court records. The FBI agents' affidavit includes copies of his correspondence with gang members. On January 31, 2017, he communicated with another suspect, with whom they tried to extort funds from a victim from whom they had previously stolen Augur cryptocurrency.
In an online interview, the Bloomington suspect told the Sun-Times that he considers himself not a culprit, but a victim.
“I am consciously cooperating with the FBI and the Augur developers,” he said. “Never in my life have I benefited from hacking other people's cryptocurrency wallets.”
He denied that he had helped hack more than 100 mobile phones, claiming that the number was much smaller. At this time, law enforcement is unable to locate the Dolton suspect. A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in San Francisco, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.
According to chicago.suntimes.com
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