AT&T Responds to Crypto Exec's SIM Swap Suit: See You in Court

AT&T said it would fight allegations that it was negligent in a customer's loss of $1.7 million in a SIM swap.

After a series of brazen SIM swaps, Shapiro said he lost $1.7 million in cryptocurrency.

"Recent high profile cases reinforce the importance of businesses and consumers taking steps to protect against SIM swap fraud, such as not using mobile phone numbers as the single source of security and authentication."

To access Shapiro's SIM card, the hackers allegedly paid off AT&T employees - now since fired and being prosecuted in criminal court - to gain control.

Two colleagues of his in several ventures - entrepreneurs Chris Kitze and Enzo Villani - were also SIM hacked at the same time, but they did not lose any funds.

In April 2019, Joel Ortiz, the alleged 21-year-old mastermind of the Shapiro hack, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, after pleading no contest to charges that he orchestrated 13 SIM swaps.

Another high-profile SIM hack case was brought against AT&T last year, when Michael Terpin, a crypto exec with a public relations firm, investment company and conference series, and a partner of Shapiro's in several of those ventures, said he lost $23.8 million when his phone was hacked.

According to an affidavit filed by a Truglia friend caught up peripherally in his bust, the thief's M.O. was to have himself fraudulently added as an admin to a target's phone account, then proceed to a local AT&T store where he used his own ID to verify his identity and instruct an AT&T employee to make the changes to provide him access to the SIM. The loss highlights an obvious question for security experts, who wondered why an experienced crypto executive would keep such high sums in an online exchange rather than "Cold storage" - i.e. offline storage, where it would be completely shielded from remote hacks.

Even without the AT&T moles alleged by Shapiro, Awan, himself the target of multiple SIM swaps, said hackers social engineer, trick and buy their way into victims' mobile accounts every day, making the value of cellphone verification almost negligible.

SIM swapping is a relatively well-known threat among high-profile crypto holders, who are often targeted because of their publicity and the heightened likelihood that they may hold valuable assets.