Nicholas Truglia, a 21-year-old Manhattan resident, was arrested last November and extradited to California in December, where he’d face 21 felony counts relating to accusations of SIM swapping.
SIM swapping involves convincing your mobile network to switch your phone number over to a SIM card that scammers own. By diverting your incoming messages, scammers can easily complete the text-based two-factor authentication checks that protect your most sensitive accounts.
Nicholas Truglia used this simple trick to steal millions in Bitcoin, reports Mashable.
The case is ongoing, so Truglia’s fate is unknown, although a separate lawsuit brought against him by one of his victims has revealed some interesting info about his life.
As Krebs on Security reports, a lawsuit filed by Michael Terpin — a cryptocurrency investor and self-described “thought leader” — against Truglia claims he lost over $23 million after Truglia SIM swapped him and drained his crypto accounts in January of 2018.
That document, and a supporting affidavit by one of Truglia’s former friends, tells the story of a cash-flush young man who saw himself as untouchable.
First up – “self-described thought leader”. Of course, he is. This guy sounds like a bit of a tool. Then again, so does Truglia.
“Nick [Truglia] likened himself to Robin Hood who robs from the rich but did not give to the poor,” explained Chris David, former associate of Truglia’s, in the aforementioned affidavit.
Instead, the documents paint a picture of someone who delighted in giving to himself — in the form of a Rolex, a $6,000-a-month apartment, and a $100,000 stack of cash he kept on his credenza. But that clearly wasn’t enough for him.
He also proclaimed that he would never get caught stealing because he’s “so good at it”.
…’how are they going to prove that my story [his defense] wrong?,'” he wrote. “Nick also boasted: ‘Nobody can get me in trouble. Nobody can put me in jail. I would bet my life on it, actually.'”
He also boasted, on social media, about sim-swapping his dad. His other hobbies included skipping out on restaurant cheques and beating his dog.
What a champion.
For the animal abuse alone, I hope he rots in jail.
I would advise that this serve as a cautionary tale.
[source:mashable]
