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A teen accused of a $36.5 million crypto theft used some of it to buy a rare gaming username — which the police used to track him down

Carla Mozée   

A teen accused of a $36.5 million crypto theft used some of it to buy a rare gaming username — which the police used to track him down
  • A Canadian teen was arrested for allegedly stealing $36.5 million in cryptocurrency through a cell phone scam.
  • The teen was accused of using some of the funds to buy a rare gaming username.

A teenager in Canada was arrested for allegedly stealing C$46 million ($36.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency from a victim residing in the US, police in Canada said Wednesday.

Some of the stolen cryptocurrency was used to buy an online username considered to be rare in the gaming community, and the transaction led investigators to find out who held the account of the username, Hamilton Police Service said in a statement.

The victim was the target of a cell phone scam known as SIM swapping, said police in Hamilton, a port city located in the province of Ontario. The department also said the case marked the biggest cryptocurrency theft reported from one person.

A SIM swap attack is a hijacking method carried out by manipulating cellular network employees to duplicate phone numbers so a scammer can intercept two-factor authorization requests. Such requests lead to access to a victim's account.

Hamilton Police said it made "multiple" cryptocurrency seizures surpassing C$7 million in value. The arrest was the result of a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the US Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force.

The Hamilton teenager's case of alleged possession of property or proceeds of property obtained by crime is being handled in the court system.

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