Sydney teenager Dennis Su pleads guilty to using Optus data breach information to blackmail customers
An unemployed Sydney teenager who tried to blackmail about 100 hacked Optus customers into transferring thousands of dollars saw it as an opportunity to ‘make some quick money,’ court says said.
Key Point:
- Su pleaded guilty to two charges, but two others were dropped
- he wrote a letter of apology to the court
- he will be executed next year
Dennis Su, 19, was arrested last month after Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigated a text message sent to an Optus customer demanding he transfer $2,000 to his brother’s bank account.
92 customers received messages threatening to use their personal information for financial crimes if they did not comply.
No one sent money.
In Downing Center District Court today, Mr. Hsu’s attorney pleaded guilty to two counts of committing a serious crime using a networked device.
According to the agreed facts, Mr. Su first accessed the hacked data on two forums and stored the contact numbers of 100 Optus customers on his iPhone.
He told police his intention was to “fool the victim.”
When one of the recipients of the text message replied with an emoji, Su went back to the forum and identified the victim’s full name to “give himself credibility,” according to court documents. made it clear.
The victim later replied, “The police have your details. You have nothing to gain. Good luck.”
Su admitted to sending the message because “he was going through a tough time being unemployed and saw an opportunity to make ‘quick money’,” according to court documents.
A magistrate was told today that Su wrote a letter of apology to the court.
Two reports from counselors that teenagers have seen since the crime was filed.
Justice of the Peace Susan Horan told the court that a sentencing assessment report is required before the sentence can be finalized.
She said the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison.
Su was not accused of being behind the Optus hack, but was charged with trying to profit financially from thousands of stolen records dumped online.
AFP officers traced the bank account mentioned in the text message and seized a mobile phone linked to the bank account when they raided the Rochdale home on October 6.
Su will be sentenced on February 7.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-08/teenager-dennis-su-pleads-guilty-to-optus-data-blackmail/101628276 Sydney teenager Dennis Su pleads guilty to using Optus data breach information to blackmail customers
