First Member of ‘Scattered Spider’ Hackers Group Sentenced to 10 Years

A 20-year-old Florida man, identified as a key member of the prolific cybercrime group “Scattered Spider,” was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison today. Noah Michael Urban of Palm Coast, Fla., was also ordered to pay approximately $13 million in restitution to the victims of his schemes.

In April 2025, Urban pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors in Florida detailed how he and his co-conspirators successfully stole at least $800,000 from five individuals through sophisticated SIM-swapping attacks.

These attacks allowed the group to take control of the victims’ mobile phone numbers, intercepting calls and text messages, including one-time passwords and two-factor authentication codes, to gain unauthorized access to financial and cryptocurrency accounts.

This sentencing marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation into Scattered Spider, a group known for its highly effective and aggressive social engineering tactics.

According to court documents from related cases, the group’s operations extended far beyond individual SIM swaps, targeting dozens of large corporations to harvest employee credentials and sensitive customer data.

The group’s typical method involved sending SMS phishing messages to corporate employees, often disguised as urgent security alerts.

These messages would direct victims to specifically crafted phishing websites that mimicked legitimate company login pages, such as those for identity services like Okta. Once an employee entered their credentials, the attackers would capture them and use them to infiltrate the company’s internal.

After gaining a foothold, the cybercriminals would access customer information, which they then used to target individuals for cryptocurrency theft.

By combining stolen data with SIM-swapping techniques, Scattered Spider was able to bypass security measures and drain victims’ cryptocurrency wallets. Federal investigators have linked the group to the theft of millions of dollars in digital assets from numerous victims across the United States.

The investigation into Scattered Spider has revealed a complex and organized criminal enterprise that has targeted at least 45 companies in the U.S. and internationally.

Urban’s sentencing is the first among the group’s identified members and represents a major success for law enforcement’s efforts to dismantle these cybercrimes.

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