A British man believed to be a key figure behind the Scattered Spider cybercrime group has admitted guilt in a United States court, facing serious charges tied to a large-scale hacking and cryptocurrency theft operation.
Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, was accused by U.S. prosecutors in November 2024 of working with four others to steal at least $8 million in cryptocurrency. The group carried out a series of targeted attacks between September 2021 and April 2023, breaching more than a dozen companies across multiple industries, including technology, telecommunications, entertainment, IT services, and cloud communications, as well as individual victims.
Investigators say the group relied heavily on SMS phishing, sending hundreds of deceptive text messages to employees of targeted companies. These messages appeared to come from legitimate sources such as the company itself or trusted IT and outsourcing providers. Victims were directed to fake websites that closely resembled official login pages, where they unknowingly handed over sensitive data like usernames, passwords, and personal identifying information.
With those credentials in hand, the attackers escalated their access using SIM swapping techniques. This allowed them to take control of victims’ phone numbers, bypass security protections, and ultimately access email accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. Funds were then transferred into wallets controlled by the group.
Buchanan was arrested in June 2024 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and has been held in U.S. federal custody since April 2025. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21, 2026, and could face up to 22 years in prison.
Three alleged accomplices, Ahmed Hossam Eldin Elbadawy, Evans Onyeaka Osiebo, and Joel Martin Evans are also facing charges that include wire fraud, conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft, each carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years if convicted. Another member, Noah Michael Urban, known online as Sosa and Elijah, was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to similar charges.
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