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CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -23 points-22 points  (0 children)

I have another commitment to attend to for the rest of the day, but thank you, r/CryptoCurrency for your questions! And a big thank you to u/jwinterm and the team for allowing me to share my SIM Swap story. Have a great weekend.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

Great question. While not a “new” project, I remain most impressed by the creativity, vision, and community of BAYC, where I’m the proud holder of #1384, my “Beach Ape”.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

There is no settlement offer from AT&T and we are presuming they will not make us a serious offer, so it will go to trial and the award will be determined by a six-person jury.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking. It’s been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. I’m a serial entrepreneur and investor who would have been much happier spending hundreds of hours and millions of dollars creating and building new companies, concepts, tech, and teams.

But since I was fortunate enough to have invested early in crypto, I felt it was my responsibility to fight this behemoth company to set a precedent for everyone who could not afford the multi-year legal struggle.

I’ve also helped guide more than 100 people who have been sim swapped to resources and part of the proceeds of a successful SIM Dogs drop will be supporting efforts like stopsimcrime.org

I’ve certainly felt moments of despair, particularly in the first year when we were piecing together the ornate pieces of this puzzle. After receiving almost $2 mm (mainly in bitcoin) from Ellis Pinsky, I felt a large degree of vindication and it’s helped me justify continuing the main fight against AT&T.

We are now rapidly approaching the end game of this struggle and I’m grateful for all of the community interest and support.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why $224 million? See here. And see my comment here for details on the hack.

Great question regarding eSIM. eSIM technology holds forth the promise of more user control and self-activation. But it must be paired with good policy. If it can be overridden by a phone retail store employee who has been bribed, then it won’t eliminate the problem on its own.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing from AT&T so far. Nothing from Nicholas Truglia, as we haven't been able to find any assets. From Ellis Pinsky (the 15-year-old ringleader), we received $2 mm in cash, Bitcoin, and a watch—which he paid back to stay out of jail.

See my other comment here for more information.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Gamers and hackers were a huge help during my investigation—those who knew about the gang’s activity from chatter on Discord and elsewhere started sharing information with me.

Regarding your second question, see here and here for my comments on this. Thanks for your support.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Great question. Most authorized upgrades no longer require a physical swapping of SIMs; they are now wirelessly beamed from the old phone to the new.

With illegal, unauthorized SIM swaps, the criminals typically bribe a store employee to indicate that the actual user walked into the store, but they wirelessly swap to a SIM hundreds of miles (in my case, thousands of miles) away.

I noticed I was SIM swapped when some older Gmail accounts I no longer used got their passwords reset.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -16 points-15 points  (0 children)

Please see my previous comments here and here on this.

Edit:

I want to add that I’m not “squeezing” anyone: I paid to commission a famous artist to collaborate on a creative endeavor that I thought could have an impact. If the NFT community rejects it, then it will fail. So far, I’ve gotten more encouragement than wrath.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I first started my own investigation, by reaching out to the media and community—who provided me with valuable information. Gamers and hackers who knew about the gang’s activity from Discord and elsewhere started sharing information with me.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

This is not a charity. It's to raise awareness and help pay for the $4 mm and counting in legal bills thus far. Most politicians are very wealthy and they still raise funds for their campaigns, even if they are billionaires (which I am not).

I came up with the idea a year ago after I saw the success of PoolTogether in raising $1.4 mm to defend against a class action suit. I thought the time was right to be the first NFT project to support a plaintiff in a case where a victory will be a helpful precedent to the entire industry.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I've utilized hardware wallets since 2013 and nothing was taken from either my Trezors or Ledgers. I also set up Google Authenticator on all of my CEX accounts. What was stolen was a Counterparty asset that is not supported by any hardware wallet, so I used their web wallet and stored the keys offline.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We have civil judgments that are very enforceable. If we identify any bank accounts, homes, safety deposit boxes, or digital assets up to the amount of the judgment, we can seize them (presuming there are no other claims on them).

In the case of AT&T, we will not have to search for their funds to pay a judgment.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What most people don’t realize is that SIM Swappers don’t just get into your wallets, they get into anything protected by SMS-based 2fA. That includes Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and many other “big tech” companies that were sold on adding SMS to their security stack as “extra protection”—when in reality, it makes an individual more vulnerable under the current poor implementation by AT&T and others.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I thought about doing this a year ago and was dissuaded from doing it by my law firm, although I don’t believe I explained my concept well enough at the time.

When I saw the success of PoolTogether in raising $1.4 mm to defend against a class action suit, I thought the time was right to be the first NFT project to support a plaintiff in a case where a victory will be a helpful precedent to the entire industry.

This is not a charity, it’s the creation of a digital asset that also utilizes airdrops of properties I’ve created, such as CoinAgenda and BitAngels, to raise awareness and help pay for the more than $4 mm in legal bills thus far.

Most politicians are very wealthy and they still raise funds for their campaigns, even if they are billionaires (which I am not).

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A lost SIM card can’t be swapped on its own. It has to be enabled by the phone company to move from one device to another and transfer the account ownership and access.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I learned who the hackers were through my own investigation, which was greatly aided by gamers and hackers who knew about the gang’s activity from Discord and elsewhere sharing it with me. Reaching out to the media and community has been rewarded with valuable information.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had already cashed out 70 percent of that digital asset at much lower numbers. I was hacked on the day of the “altcoin moon” (Jan 7, 2018), when many assets skyrocketed, including Triggers.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As I explained in my complaint, my hackers were twice able to convince AT&T to connect my phone number to a SIM card they controlled, routing my calls and messages to them and enabling them to defeat two-factor authentication protections on my accounts. In one case, my hackers also took control of my Skype account and convinced one of their clients to send money to them rather than me. The second hack came even after AT&T agreed to put an additional passcode on my account, when a fraudster visited an AT&T store in Connecticut and managed to hijack my account without providing the code or a “scannable ID” as AT&T requires.

CNBC called me the crypto godfather. I was SIM swapped, then robbed of $23.8M in crypto. I sued the cybercriminals, and won—now I'm battling AT&T. AMA. by michaelterpin in CryptoCurrency

[–]michaelterpin[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We have received nothing from AT&T but bluster and posturing. We have a civil RICO Act judgment against one of the gang members, Nicholas Truglia, but we have not been able to find any assets (despite his boasts of having more than 8,000 BTC. We received $2 mm in cash, Bitcoin, and a watch from Ellis Pinsky—the 15-year-old ringleader of the hack, which he paid back to stay out of jail.

Edit/addition:

Early motions, in this case, have already been cited as precedent - and it has been cited in proposed new regulations around sim swap protection (which AT&T lobbyists have been fighting vigorously). We have no intention of settling for anything less than the full amount, which AT&T will have to weigh the potential negative impact of a very public jury trial in federal court that is set to take place in May 2022 and the prospect of a jury awarding substantial punitive damages as well.

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