Former AT&T Worker Jailed for Helping Criminals Hijack Phone Numbers

A former AT&T retail worker, Kenneth Carter, 44, has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for using his access to the company’s systems to carry out SIM swaps for cybercriminals. The swaps allowed accomplices to take control of victims’ mobile numbers, intercept authentication codes and access their bank accounts. Carter performed the activity at an AT&T store in Portland, Oregon.

According to court documents, the scheme operated from May 2018 to November 2019 and involved at least three other people, with nearly $600,000 in intended losses. A co-conspirator identified targets with online banking accounts, collected their personal information and passed it to Carter. He then reassigned the victims’ numbers to devices controlled by the group. Court documents described Carter’s role as “instrumental to the scheme”.