Graham Ivan Clark
Graham Ivan Clark | |
|---|---|
2020 Twitter bitcoin scam | |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Parent |
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Graham Ivan Clark (born January 9, 2003) is an American computer hacker, cybercriminal and a convicted felon regarded as the mastermind behind the 2020 Twitter account hijacking.
Early life
Graham Ivan Clark grew up in Hillsborough County, Florida, with his mother, father, and older sister.[1] His parents divorced when he was 7; as of 2020, his father lives in Indiana.[2] During his teenage years, Clark used various aliases while participating in online communities, gaining notoriety as a scammer in the "hardcore factions" Minecraft community.[3] In 2018, Graham joined OGUsers, a forum dedicated to selling, buying, and trading online accounts, and was banned after four days.
In 2019, at the age of 16, Clark was involved in stealing 164 bitcoins from Gregg Bennett, a Seattle-based angel investor, through a SIM swap attack. Clark sent two extortion notes under the alias "Scrim", stating, "We just want the remainder of the funds in the Bittrex", referring to the cryptocurrency exchange "Bittrex" that Bennett had used, and "We are always one step ahead and this is your easiest option." The United States Secret Service managed to recover only 100 bitcoins from the heist.[4] In an interview, Bennett said he was told by a Secret Service agent that the person with the stolen bitcoins was not arrested because he was a minor.[2]
Role in the 2020 Twitter account hijacking
Clark is widely regarded as the "mastermind" of the
The Twitter hack began on June 14 when Sheppard and Fazeli assisted Clark in manipulating employees through social engineering.[7] This involved calling multiple Twitter employees and posing as the help desk in Twitter's IT department responding to a reported problem with Twitter's internal VPN. From there, Clark directed the employee to a phishing site that was identical in appearance to Twitter's VPN log-in portal. When the employee entered their information into the phishing portal, the credentials were simultaneously entered onto the real log-in page. After one employee account was compromised, it was used to review instructions on Twitter's intranet on how to take over Twitter accounts.[8]
Arrest
On July 31, 2020, Clark was arrested at his home in
The plea agreement
Clark was released from Saint Petersburg Community Release Center on February 16, 2023.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Twitter hack 'mastermind': Who is the Tampa teen accused of targeting high-profile accounts?". WFLA. August 2, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Exposing "Open/Feed": A Scammer, A Liar, A Ddoser". Meezoid. October 17, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- ^ "Alleged Twitter hacker was previously caught stealing a fortune in Bitcoin". Engadget. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ Goodin, Dan (March 17, 2021). "I was a teenage Twitter hacker. Graham Ivan Clark gets 3-year sentence". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Bail in Twitter hack: $725,000. Tampa teen's assets: $3 million in Bitcoin". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ "Twitter Investigation Report". Department of Financial Services. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Teen Who Hacked Musk, Obama Twitter Accounts Gets 3 Years in Jail". PCMAG. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Tampa Twitter hacker agrees to three years in prison". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
- ^ Statt, Nick (March 16, 2021). "Teen 'mastermind' behind the great Twitter hack sentenced to three years in prison". The Verge. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "2019 Florida Statutes :: Title XXXIX - Commercial Relations :: Chapter 668 - Electronic Commerce :: Part V - Computer Abuse and Data Recovery Act (Ss. 668.801-668.805) :: 668.802 - Definitions". Justia Law. Retrieved June 12, 2022.