\n<\/p>\n
\nIn some instances, the co-conspirators took control themselves and used that control to launch a scheme to defraud other Twitter users.\u00a0In other instances, the co-conspirators sold access to Twitter accounts to others.\u00a0O\u2019CONNOR communicated with others regarding purchasing unauthorized access to a variety of Twitter accounts, including accounts associated with public figures around the world.\u00a0A number of Twitter accounts targeted by O\u2019CONNOR were subsequently transferred away from their rightful owners.\u00a0O\u2019CONNOR agreed to purchase unauthorized access to one Twitter account for $10,000.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nPlugwalkJoe also took over an unnamed TikTok user\u2019s account in 2020, and the details listed suggest the unnamed victim is top TikToker Addison Rae<\/a>. At the time, Rae\u2019s TikTok account name changed to \u201cjoeandzak1\u201d and her bio read \u201cplugwalkjoe zak n crippin.\u201d The DOJ also says PlugwalkJoe and co-conspirators targeted the Snapchat account of another high-profile user in 2019 and threatened to release their private images to the public. In this case, the victim appears to be Bella Thorne, who publicly thanked the FBI for arresting O\u2019Connor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nA separate case from the Southern District of New York accuses O\u2019Connor and conspirators of SIM swaps, or the act of gaining control of a victim\u2019s phone number, as part of a scheme that resulted in the theft of $794,000 in crypto from an unnamed, Manhattan-based company that \u201cprovided wallet infrastructure and related software to cryptocurrency.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cO\u2019Connor used his sophisticated technological abilities for malicious purposes \u2014 conducting a complex SIM swap attack to steal large amounts of cryptocurrency, hacking Twitter, conducting computer intrusions to take over social media accounts, and even cyberstalking two victims, including a minor victim,\u201d US Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York says in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n