Sim Swap Fraudster Who Blew Stolen Crypto on Gold Grills and Luxury Holidays Jailed for 2.5 Years
A U.K. resident has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for helping steal nearly £200,000 ($264,896) in cryptocurrency.Proceeds Financed Personal LuxuriesAjay Shinjin, also known as AJ Marley Cruz, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and transferring criminal property, the City of London Police said.The 25-year-old received over £44,000 ($58,277) of the stolen funds, which he spent on a lavish lifestyle that included luxury trips to Dubai, a high-end apartment and gold-plated teeth grills.Shinjin gained access to cryptocurrency accounts by “exploiting SIM-swap technology,” said Detective Constable Simon Ardeman. Read Also: The Modus OperandiArdeman said telecom provider BT Group identified “unauthorised activity” affecting its systems in 2021, through which customer telephone numbers had been transferred to SIM cards controlled by criminals.“With a phone number under their control, criminals were able to receive one-time passcodes [OTPs] via text messages to gain access to a victim’s bank accounts or crypto wallets to access their money,” the officer said.BT’s data helped identify multiple suspects, including Shinjin, who was associated with four SIM-swap devices. Read Also: Photo courtesy: Shutterstock