Twitter hacks are quite common, but on July 15, the whole platform was thrown into chaos as a Twitter hack attacked the site's most prominent users, ranging from giant tech CEOs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, the former POTUS Barack Obama, and stars like Kanye West and had the accounts tweet a Bitcoin scam to their followers.
Due to the attack, Twitter temporarily had to restrict verified accounts from posting.
The Twitter Hack Suspect
According to a previous report by TechTimes, three suspects were responsible for the hacking and were identified and arrested by authorities.
The hack's so-called mastermind was the youngest of the group: the 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark, who is now under state custody and will be prosecuted under state law as the state of Florida sees him as an adult.
Additionally, it was said that the young hacker only used his phone to trick his way into what was supposed to be one of the most sophisticated tech companies and crack into the platform's high-profile accounts.
Now, new information has emerged regarding Clark through an investigation.
Previous Minecraft Scammer
In a report by the New York Times, several of Clark's friends revealed that he was a known Minecraft scammer and was also involved in Bitcoin scams and theft.
According to the report, his friends revealed that he was 10 when he first played Minecraft, where he would cheat people out of their money and would become an adept scammer with "an explosive temper."
"He scammed me for a little bit of money when I was just a kid," said Colby Meeds, 19, who was one of Clark's victims on Minecraft, detailing how the hacker stole $50 from him in 2016 by offering him an in-game item but never delivering it.
There was also another victim that came forward, describing how Clark scammed them of $100, offering the username "Open" but blocking the victim as soon as the transaction was sent.
Some of his Minecraft practices have been captured on camera, and are preserved via a number of YouTube videos created by other players, showing how the hacker commonly scams people on the game.
Before the Hacking
By 15, Clark joined an online forum for hackers and became a part of an $856,000 Bitcoin theft based on social media and legal records, although he was never charged for it.
After the theft, Clark was seen wearing expensive accessories, such as a bling-encrusted Rolex as well as designer sneakers.
According to the news outlet, despite millions of young people who played the same game as Clark and engaged in the same forum as him, it appears that the young hacker spent much of his life online and became well-versed at convincing others to give him money, as well as other sensitive information.
GameSpot reported that Clark was also used to have a YouTube account, where he built an audience by posting videos of his Minecraft gameplay.
Based on the report, the young hacker was using the usernames Open or OpenHCF.
This article is owned by TechTimes.
Written by: Nhx Tingson
