Recently, on-chain investigator ZachXBT brought to light evidence linking convicted UK hacker Gurvinder Bhangu, also known as Gurv, to the compromising of American actress Sydney Sweeney’s and ‘Breaking Bad’ actor Bob Odenkirk’s X accounts. These hacks resulted in over $530,000 being stolen through Solana meme coin scams.
On July 2nd, Sydney Sweeney fell victim to a SIM swap attack, leading to a fraudulent meme coin called SWEENEY being posted from her account. This caused the coin’s price to skyrocket before plummeting. Following ZachXBT’s investigation, it was revealed that the team wallets associated with the SWEENEY scam cashed out over $515,000 worth of the coin.
After the hacks, Gurv seemed to have boldly taunted social media by attempting to take credit for other high-profile incidents involving personalities like Hulk Hogan and 50 Cent. Despite the lack of concrete evidence supporting these claims, it is clear that the hacker was not hesitant to showcase his actions.
Through timing analysis, ZachXBT was able to trace the funds from the SWEENEY scam to a Solana exchange, where they were converted to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Additionally, screenshots emerged showing Gurv receiving login codes for Sweeney’s account from the SIM swap on Telegram, along with a receipt from Verizon confirming the swap.
Further investigation revealed that on July 9th, 1.5 ETH was transferred to an exchange and then received on Solana in connection to the Sydney Sweeney SIM swap. On the same day, Bob Odenkirk’s X account was also hacked with links to meme coins KIRK and SAUL. The hackers, however, only managed to profit a small amount due to mishandling the scam.
Interestingly, the proceeds from the hacks were found to be traced back to the same Ethereum address used in the Sweeney hack. It was discovered that the funds were transferred to crypto casinos and used for gift card purchases. Currently, the wallets linked to the hacks hold a total of $488,000.
The intricate web of evidence uncovered by ZachXBT provides a clear link between the actions of Gurv, the UK hacker, and the high-profile celebrity account hacks that resulted in significant financial losses. This serves as a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining strong security measures to protect against such malicious attacks in an increasingly digital world.
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