PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — An ABC News investigation uncovered an alarming trend with cybercrimes – more Gen Z hackers are being recruited through online gaming and chat platforms.
Federal investigators in Oregon said they’re noticing the trend as well. It follows a high-profile conviction just two years ago in Portland. Daniel Junk, a 22-year-old from Portland, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for stealing millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. Investigators said his criminal behavior started in his teenage years.
That’s similar to the case of Matthew Lane, who spoke exclusively to ABC News before reporting to federal prison.
“I was addicted to hacking. That gave me the most natural high ever,” Lane told ABC News.
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Lane pleaded guilty to hacking into PowerSchool – a cloud-based system used by school districts across the country, including Oregon and Washington. Federal prosecutors said his hack compromised the personal information of more than 70 million students and teachers.
A judge sentenced him to four years in prison late last year.
“I want to take accountability for everything I’ve done, for everything I ever did. Not just recently, but for everything I ever did. It was disgusting, it was greedy, it was rooted in my own insecurities,” Lane said.
Lane’s case fits into a growing trend of young boys and men turning to a life of cybercrime. Federal investigators said they saw a spike in cybercrimes at the start of the pandemic.
“That’s been heavily driven by teenagers and young adults, often men, almost always men,” FBI Special Agent Eric Atherley said. “It’s mostly driven by that classic kid mentality. My friends have fancy things, new toys, and I want them, and they see an easy way to make money, and that’s how they’re recruited into it.”
In many cases, experts said young men are recruited through gaming platforms and online chat sites.
“They’ll be stealing portions of people’s life savings and then blowing it on an online gambling casino that takes cryptocurrency and doing the digital equivalent of lighting it on fire,” Atherley said.
Atherley and Kate Rykken, an assistant US Attorney in the District of Oregon, said the best way to stop this is by parents looking out for red flags and talking to their kids.
“If you have a teenage, usually son, who’s receiving packages and is very protective of them, you’re not sure how he’s paying for them. That’s kind of a red flag for me,” Atherley said.
“If you do allow them gaming, make sure the avatar picture is not their real picture, that it’s someone who’s not a minor. Don’t make their age public. Don’t make their accounts public, and if you’re on gaming systems, pay very careful attention to whether you let them have free play that has access to anyone on the internet versus a controlled environment where they can play with the two or three friends that you’ve approved,” Rykken said.
One of the most prevalent cybercrimes affecting everyday people is something called SIM swapping. Hackers get your personal information through the dark web and then use it to get phone companies to switch your cell phone number to a phone they control.
It allows them to drain bank accounts – frequently cryptocurrency wallets – in minutes. The FBI said you can protect yourself by setting a PIN for your mobile account. A phone company then won’t make any changes unless you provide that PIN.
“If you have that rule in place on your account, say that you need to provide a pin before any changes can be made, that’s one of the best ways to protect your phone from being swapped,” Atherley said.
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The FBI also recommends using authenticator apps – not just text messages – for two-factor authentication. You can also watch our entire conversation with the FBI and US Attorney’s Office on the KATU YouTube page right now.
You can report cybercrimes at ic3.gov. The FBI said it reads every report and sends them to the appropriate agency. They encourage everyone to report.
Editor’s Note: This report was part of a collaboration with ABC News. Their investigative team just aired a 30-minute special on Nightline this week. You can watch “Minor Mayhem: The Hackers of Gen Z” on abcnews.com and their YouTube page right now.
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