Graham Ivan Clark
Graham Ivan Clark (born January 9, 2003) is an American hacker and cybercriminal, who was behind the 2020 Twitter account hijacking.
Graham Ivan Clark | |
|---|---|
 Booking photo from July 2020 | |
| Born | Graham Ivan Clark 9 January 2003 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Gaither High School |
| Known for | 2020 Twitter bitcoin scam |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Parent(s) |
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Early life
Graham Ivan Clark grew up in Hillsborough County, Florida, with his mother, father, and sister.[1] When he was a teenager, Clark used nicknames while being a part of online communities, including Minecraft.[2][3] In 2018, Graham joined OGUsers, a forum that is dedicated to selling, buying, and trading online accounts with 'cool' usernames. He was banned on the forums due to him scamming a fellow user.
In 2019, at the age of 16, Clark was involved in stealing 164 bitcoins from Gregg Bennett, an investor in Seattle using a SIM swap attack. The United States Secret Service was only able to recover 100 bitcoins.[4][3]
2020 Twitter account hijacking
Clark is widely known as the "mastermind" of the 2020 Twitter account hijacking,[5][6] an event where Clark and two partners hacked 130 high-profile Twitter accounts to do a cryptocurrency scam involving bitcoin, and stealing "OG" usernames to sell on the OGUsers forum.[7][8]
Arrest
On July 31, 2020, Clark was arrested at his home in Northdale, Florida. He faced 30 criminal charges, including 17 counts of communication fraud, 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal information, one count of organized fraud for more than $5,000, and one count of accessing a computer or electronic device without authority. His bail was set at $725,000 and he pleaded not guilty.
His hearing was held on March 16, 2021 via Zoom at Hillsborough County Jail. He was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of probation as part of a plea deal under Florida's Youthful Offender Act, which limits the penalties of convicted felons under the age of 21.[9][10][11]
Clark was released from Saint Petersburg Community Release Center on February 16, 2023.[12]
References
- ↑ "Twitter hack 'mastermind': Who is the Tampa teen accused of targeting high-profile accounts?". WFLA. 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
- ↑ "Exposing "Open/Feed": A Scammer, A Liar, A Ddoser" (in en-US). Meezoid. 2016-10-17. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/technology/florida-teenager-twitter-hack.html. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Popper, Nathaniel; Conger, Kate; Browning, Kellen (2020-08-02). "From Minecraft Tricks to Twitter Hack: A Florida Teen's Troubled Online Path" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/technology/florida-teenager-twitter-hack.html. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ↑ "Alleged Twitter hacker was previously caught stealing a fortune in Bitcoin". Engadget. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ↑ Goodin, Dan (2021-03-17). "I was a teenage Twitter hacker. Graham Ivan Clark gets 3-year sentence". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
- ↑ Popper, Nathaniel; Conger, Kate (2020-07-17). "Hackers Tell the Story of the Twitter Attack From the Inside" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/technology/twitter-hackers-interview.html. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ↑ Company, Tampa Publishing. "Bail in Twitter hack: $725,000. Tampa teen's assets: $3 million in Bitcoin". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
- ↑ "Twitter Investigation Report". Department of Financial Services. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ↑ Statt, Nick (2021-03-16). "Teen 'mastermind' behind the great Twitter hack sentenced to three years in prison". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ↑ "Teen Who Hacked Musk, Obama Twitter Accounts Gets 3 Years in Jail". PCMAG. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ↑ "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 2022-06-12.
- ↑ https://vinelink.vineapps.com/person-detail/offender/15174930