CLARKSTON, Mich. – An Oakland County man was sentenced to prison for conducting schemes to hijack valuable Instagram accounts and cellphone numbers.
‘SIM swapping’ scheme
Recommended Videos
Officials said Anthony Joseph Carlson, 25, of Clarkston, operated a “SIM swapping” fraud scheme in which he tricked cellphone service providers into reassigning numbers to new phones that he controlled.
This was done without the actual owners of those phone number knowing, according to authorities.
The cellphones controlled by Carlson had new subscriber identification modules, so after someone’s service was hijacked, Carlson could receive messages intended for that person. That information included password reset codes for online accounts, officials said.
Carlson worked with others in SIM swapping schemes to reset passwords, take over accounts, and steal cryptocurrency.
Officials said Carlson was part of two separate conspiracies to use SIM swapping to access email, financial, and social media accounts. He did so with the intention of stealing cryptocurrency, authorities said.
One scheme involved the takeover of a Coinbase account and aimed to steal $10,000 in cryptocurrency. It didn’t result in any actual losses.
A second scheme -- centered around the takeover of a Facebook account -- allowed Carlson and one other person to obtain cryptocurrency from two friends of the account owner.
In total, Carlson’s SIM swapping scheme resulted in more than $28,000 in losses.
Instagram accounts stolen
One of Carlson’s schemes involved hijacking valuable Instagram accounts that he could sell. He caused losses of over $93,000, federal officials said.
Carlson sent emails pretending to be from legitimate sources and convinced people to reveal personal identifying information and passwords, according to authorities.
Carlson told the owners of popular Instagram accounts that he wanted to buy advertising, but claimed he needed to determine how valuable those accounts would be for marketing.
He convinced the owners of those accounts to download his “analytics software,” which had a spoofed website name almost identical to a common Instagram analytics software. Once users downloaded the software, Carlson stole their usernames and passwords, allowing him to take over the accounts.
Officials said Carlson also obtained stolen Instagram accounts from other people and re-sold them for thousands of dollars.
As part of another scheme, Carlson collected money for advertising on Instagram accounts that he didn’t actually control.
Sentencing
Carlson pleaded guilty Aug. 22 to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. All four charges are felonies.
He was sentenced to 42 months (three and a half years) in federal prison.
“It’s the same as if the defendant was actually robbing the victims,” United States District Judge Percy Anderson said. “You don’t get a break because you used a computer.”
A hearing to determine what Carlson owes in restitution was scheduled for Jan. 18. He’ll owe money to about 10 individuals and companies.
