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A complaint has been filed against telecom giant AT&T by a customer accusing the firm of channelizing an employee-aided SIM swap, which has caused the complainant a loss of $1.8 million, including crypto assets theft. The complaint has been filed by Seth Shapiro who is a well-known Californian resident. The person is a two-time Emmy Awards winner, author, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and not to mention a subscriber of AT&T network.
Mr. Shapiro has dragged the firm to the court by stating that AT&T failed to safeguard his wireless number, which eventually resulted in a SIM swap making him a victim of major cryptocurrency theft.
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As per the complaint filed by Mr. Shapiro:
On at least four occasions between May 16, 2018 and May 18, 2019, AT&T employees obtained unauthorized access to Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless account, viewed his confidential and proprietary personal information, and transferred control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number from Mr. Shapiro’s phone to a phone controlled by third-party hackers in exchange for money.
The complaint further read:
The hackers then utilized their control over Mr. Shapiro’s AT&T wireless number — including control secured through cooperation with AT&T employees — to access his personal and digital finance accounts and steal more than $1.8 million from Mr. Shapiro.
Interestingly, there are evidence of chat logs between AT&T employees and the outside hackers celebrating their notorious victory. The chat logs read:
At the end of the chat, a group member brags that they “made 1.3 [million]” and they begin plotting about how to route the stolen cryptocurrency through various accounts and currencies in order to cover their trail. They also brag about plans to “buy some Gucci” or a “dream car” with the money they stole from Mr. Shapiro.
“AT&T’s Repeated Failures to Protect Mr. Shapiro’s Account from Unauthorized Access Are a Violation of Federal Law,” read one of the headers in the lawsuit. Mr. Shapiro has accused that AT&T failed to take the necessary steps which were required to be undertaken to protect the sensitive and crucial information. As per the reports, Mr. Shapiro was subjected to SIM swap fraud several times, and also his personal information was compromised. He was also threatened by the fraudsters.
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With the involvement of two eminent parties, the case has garnered a lot of attention from the financial world. AT&T is surely going to face some major backlash from its subscriber circle of more than 153 million in case the allegations turn out to be true.
