police news

Police just busted a kid from Ontario just for stealing $46 million in crypto

There is a substantial segment of the population that utterly swears by cryptocurrency, confident that it is the investment of a lifetime and the way that the future's headed.

But for one unfortunate individual, their very large investment proved a little too vulnerable to scam artists — one of whom happened to be a a teenager from Ontario.

An unnamed youth from Hamilton has been apprehended by local police for possession of property or proceeds of property obtained by crime, as well as theft over $5,000, but the amount that was stolen from the American victim through the complicated scam was far, far more than that, and actually stands as the biggest cryptocurrency theft reported from one person.

According to authorities, approximately $46 million CAD was swindled from a single investor in what is called a "SIM swap attack" using duplicate phone numbers to take advantage of two-factor authentication.

According to Hamilton police, officers made "multiple cryptocurrency seizures" (though it's hard to imagine seizing something that doesn't physically exist) valued at over $7 million.

Hamilton detectives, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force are still seeking any additional information that could help with their investigation.

Lead photo by

Eftakher Alam


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Latest in Tech

Toronto friends come up with new way to fix 'absurd' tipping culture

Sponsored

This fun Toronto pop-up wants to make ETFs way less intimidating

Sponsored

A look at the free Toronto ETF pop-up aiming to make investing more fun

Sponsored

Everything to know about pay-as-you-go insurance in Ontario, according to an expert

Sponsored

Level up your Toronto game day experience at this free Best Buy activation

Canadian iPhone users eligible for proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple

Sponsored

Check out this Toronto creator take on TD's Living on Rewards challenge

Several Ontario universities struck in massive global data breach