Scottish Hacker Pleads Guilty to $8M Crypto Heist

0:00It's April 18th. I'm Cory with the story, and this is Europe News Today. Your AI-powered European briefing. A 24-year-old from Dundee, Scotland named Tyler Buchanan, just pleaded guilty to a massive hacking scheme targeting U.S. companies. He and his crew aimed to steal at least $8 million in cryptocurrency through phishing attacks on over a dozen victims. They pulled it off with smishing fake text messages pretending to be from bosses or suppliers. Toys bit, handing over log-in details that let the hackers into systems from September 2021 right through April 2023. This hit telecom firms, IT providers, cloud services, and even crypto outfits hard, leaving everyday workers exposed and companies scrambling. Devices seized from Buchanan's place had victim lists, seed phrases, and stolen creds bundled straight to his telegram channel. Now he's locked up in U.S. federal custody since April 2025, facing up to 22 years when he gets sentenced on August 21st.

1:00One accomplice, Noah Urban, already did 10 years, and owes 13 million in restitution, while three other Americans fight charges. With help from Police Scotland and FBI, this bus shows how international crews get taken down, reminding us to double check those shady texts before it's too late.