A second celebrity hacker pleaded guilty to phishing login information and then stealing personal data from public individuals. It seems that the man was targeting important people in the entertainment industry.
The second celebrity hacker that confessed his crimes is 28 years old Edward Majerczyk, a resident of Illinois and Chicago. He admitted his crimes during a plea agreement with the District Court of the United States.
According to his testimony, from November 23rd, 2013 until August 2014, Majerczyk engaged in what is usually called a phishing scheme. Through this process he obtained the passwords and usernames of his victims, using them to steal sensible information.
His tactic was to create fake websites and emails that appeared to belong to providers of internet services. He then proceeded by sending an email to the victims posing as a security officer concerned about hackers and the security of the individual’s account.
After reading the email, the targeted person was directed to a website that asked for their emails and passwords. For security reasons, the individual was asked to type his or her email password.
The next step was to collect the information introduced by the victim and access their personal accounts looking for videos or photos that could have been used for blackmail or sold to various publications.
Similar charges were brought to Ryan Collins a couple of months ago. The first celebrity hacker was accused of phishing personal information from Hollywood stars and using the material thus obtained for personal winnings.
These two investigations are in close connection with the Celebgate scandal that started in September 2014.
By using the above-mentioned phishing method, Collins accessed over 72 Gmail and iCloud accounts. Most of the hacked accounts belonged to female public figures.
Majerczyck’s work was even more fruitful. The second celebrity hacker managed to break into more than 300 Gmail and iCloud accounts, a great portion of them belonging to celebrities.
For the moment, investigators were unable to link Collins or Majerczyk to the famous leaks. Moreover, the Justice Department stated that there is no evidence to suggest that the two were working together or that they contributed to the Celebgate database.
One if the famous victims of this leak was actress Jennifer Lawrence, star of the popular Hunger Games franchise. Other names included Liz Lee, McKayla Maroney, Kaley Cuoco, Kirsten Dunst, and Kate Upton.
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