First Member of ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacking Group Receives 10-Year Sentence
Noah Michael Urban, a 20-year-old man from Palm Coast, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role as a key member of the notorious cybercrime group known as “Scattered Spider.” He was also ordered to pay approximately $13 million in restitution to the victims of his fraudulent schemes. In April 2025, Urban pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors revealed that he and his co-conspirators executed sophisticated SIM-swapping attacks, successfully stealing at least $800,000 from five individuals. These attacks enabled the group to take control of victims’ mobile phone numbers, intercepting calls and text messages, including one-time passwords and two-factor authentication codes, to gain unauthorised access to financial and cryptocurrency accounts.
Urban’s sentencing marks a significant milestone in the ongoing investigation into Scattered Spider, a group renowned for its aggressive social engineering tactics. Court documents indicate that the group’s operations extended beyond individual SIM swaps, targeting numerous large corporations to harvest employee credentials and sensitive customer data. Their typical method involved sending SMS phishing messages disguised as urgent security alerts, directing victims to phishing websites that mimicked legitimate company login pages. Once employees entered their credentials, the attackers captured them to infiltrate the companies’ internal systems. By combining stolen data with SIM-swapping techniques, Scattered Spider bypassed security measures and drained victims’ cryptocurrency wallets. Federal investigators have linked the group to the theft of millions of dollars in digital assets from numerous victims across the United States, revealing a complex and organised criminal enterprise that targeted at least 45 companies both domestically and internationally. Urban’s sentencing is the first among the identified members of the group and represents a significant success for law enforcement in their efforts to dismantle these cybercrimes.
Categories: Cybercrime, SIM-Swapping, Phishing Attacks
Tags: Cybercrime, Scattered Spider, SIM-swapping, Wire fraud, Conspiracy, Phishing, Cryptocurrency, Restitution, Investigation, Sentencing