09/22/2026
Kenneth Walker, an AT&T store worker stole $600k within the year or so he worked for the company. How? He and his accomplices worked together in a SIM card swapping scheme. They identified victims that used online banking, gathered their personal information including cell numbers and then simply walked into the store where Kenneth worked. Kenneth then used his access to "verify" them as the customer before swapping SIM cards into devices that his accomplices controlled.
There are two stories being told here:
- How weak SMS two factor authentication is
- Threat actors don't need to target high level employees at companies
A lot of people think threat actors mainly go after high profile targets like executives, but the truth is they simply need someone with access. This access typically can be someone low on the totem pole whether it be the help desk personnel, the receptionist/security guard or simply someone in the mail room (yes the physical mail room.) These are called insider threats and they are a common source of information for threat actors.
As an organization, who all has access that a threat actor would find valuable and how can that access be used?
https://ktla.com/news/california/former-att-employee-sim-swapping-fraud/
A former AT&T store employee took part in a SIM-swapping scheme that allowed a hacker to access victims’ bank accounts and attempt to steal nearly $600,000, federal prosecutors announced. At le…
