Technet: Daily Crunch - Florida teen arrested in Twitter hack

Friday, July 31, 2020

Daily Crunch - Florida teen arrested in Twitter hack

The big story: Florida teen arrested in Twitter hack

In a hack earlier this month, high-profile Twitter accounts like Apple, Elon Musk, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were compromised and posted messages promoting a cryptocurrency scheme. Now an investigation by the FBI and Department of Justice has resulted in three arrests: Mason Sheppard of the United Kingdom, Nima Fazeli of Orlando and a 17-year-old Tampa resident.

The Tampa teen was described by the state attorney’s office as the hack’s “mastermind” and is facing 30 felony charges. He allegedly made more than $100,000 in a single day thanks to the hack.

"These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they're not the primary victims here," said Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren in a statement.

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