Yahya Uncovered in 17 SIM Swap Attacks Worth $4.5M

A new investigation by pseudonymous crypto detective ZachXBT has uncovered the role of Canadian con artist Yahya in 17 SIM swap attacks in 2023 that resulted in the theft of more than $4.5 million.

In SIM swaps, hackers deceive phone companies into transferring a victim’s phone number to a SIM card they possess. This allows the hackers access to all accounts associated with the victim’s phone number.

Yahya participated in 17 SIM swaps this year, targeting individuals such as Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, crypto influencer Bitboy, the Aptos Foundation, and PleasrDAO, according to the findings.

Using his access to data tools, Yahya was responsible for conducting phone number and social media account lookups on targets.

Skenkir then used this information to conduct SIM swap attacks against victims in the United States. Yahya received a portion of the proceeds from each successful theft as payment.

The investigation provides several instances of Yahya’s participation in attacks. One is the attack on the Gutter Cat Gang team in July 2022, which caused over $720,000 in damages.

Yahya received $250,000 in compensation for his contribution. Other victims include the crypto influencer Bitboy Crypto, who lost $950,000, and PleasrDAO member Jamis, from whom $1.3 million was stolen.

Yahya’s wallet address received over 390 ETH ($720,000) in total from the seventeen SIM swap attacks.

ZachXBT reported earlier this year that 54 prominent victims were targeted by SIM swap attacks in 2023. These victims lost over $13 million in total.