![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A British man has pleaded guilty to plotting to hack into the computer systems of 12 companies to steal at least $8m (\u00a35.9m) in virtual currency from US victims.<\/p>\n
Tyler Buchanan, of Dundee, was involved in a group that used text message phishing attacks to con workers into revealing their login details so they could access computer systems, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said.<\/p>\n
Buchanan, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n
He and other group members sent hundreds of messages to employees, posing as the firms or their contracted suppliers, US officials said.<\/p>\n
Buchanan admitted in his plea agreement that between September 2021 and April 2023 the group planned to scam telecoms companies, IT suppliers, cloud communications providers, virtual currency firms and individuals.<\/p>\n
A device seized at Buchanan’s home in Scotland showed he held the names and addresses of multiple victims, as well as a text file containing cryptocurrency seed phrases and login details for one victim’s account.<\/p>\n
“The conspirators created a phishing kit that captured login credentials entered into the fraudulent phishing websites by a victim company’s employees,” the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
“The stolen credentials were then transmitted to an online Telegram channel administered by Buchanan and another co-conspirator.”<\/p>\n
Buchanan has been in US federal custody since April last year.<\/p>\n
He is set to be sentenced on 21 August and faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in jail.<\/p>\n
Three other defendants, all from the US, are still facing charges, according to the DOJ.<\/p>\n
Another co-conspirator, Noah Michael Urban, pleaded guilty in April last year to three fraud-related charges and is serving a 10-year prison sentence. He must also pay $13m (\u00a39.6m) in restitution.<\/p>\n
The DOJ said Police Scotland was one of several agencies assisting in the FBI’s investigation.<\/p>\n
Source: \u00a0<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"