Scattered Spider Figure Tyler Buchanan Pleads Guilty to U.S. Fraud Charges
Summary
Tyler Robert Buchanan, described as a key Scattered Spider figure, pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. U.S. authorities say phishing and SIM-swapping by him and co-conspirators stole over $8 million in cryptocurrency.
Key points
- Buchanan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
- Authorities say Buchanan and co-conspirators used phishing to harvest thousands of credentials and SIM-swapping attacks to steal more than $8 million in cryptocurrency.
- Victims included U.S. individuals and businesses in sectors including entertainment, telecommunications, technology, finance and virtual currency.
- Buchanan was arrested in Spain in 2024 and has been in federal custody since April 2025.
- He faces up to 22 years in prison; sentencing is scheduled for August 21.
- The article describes Buchanan as a key figure in Scattered Spider, a subset of The Com, while noting the group does not have formal leaders.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Guilty plea in a federal cybercrime case involving phishing and SIM-swapping attacks.
- Impact
- Tyler Robert Buchanan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The attacks by Buchanan and co-conspirators harvested thousands of credentials and stole more than $8 million in cryptocurrency from U.S. residents, defrauding at least a dozen companies and their employees. Victims included individuals and businesses in several sectors. Buchanan faces up to 22 years in prison; Spanish police separately said he had gained control of bitcoin worth more than $27 million at the time.
MITRE ATT&CK
People
Threat Actors
Ahmed Hossam Eldin ElbadawyIdentified as an alleged co-conspirator linked to the Scattered Spider case who still faced charges, according to the article.Evans Onyeaka OsieboIdentified as an alleged co-conspirator linked to the Scattered Spider case who still faced charges, according to the article.Joel Martin EvansIdentified as an alleged co-conspirator linked to the Scattered Spider case who still faced charges, according to the article.Noah Michael UrbanIdentified as Buchanan's co-conspirator in the phishing and cryptocurrency thefts; the article says Urban was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.Scattered SpiderThe article describes Scattered Spider as a subset of The Com involved in phishing and cryptocurrency theft, including the attacks associated with Buchanan.The ComThe article describes The Com and its interconnected subsets as involved in cybercrimes including swatting, extortion, sextortion, and other criminal activity.Tyler Robert BuchananPleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in phishing and SIM-swapping attacks that harvested credentials and stole cryptocurrency.
Countries
ScotlandTyler Robert Buchanan of Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.SpainArrested in Spain in 2024 and in federal custody since April 2025, Buchanan faces up to 22 years in prison and his plea highlights international law enforcement cooperation against Com-linked criminal networks.United Statesharvested thousands of credentials via phishing and stole more than $8 million in cryptocurrency from U.S.
Industries
business process outsourcingVictims included high net worth individuals and businesses in the entertainment, telecom, technology, business process outsourcing, IT, cloud and virtual currency sectors, officials said.CloudVictims included high net worth individuals and businesses in the entertainment, telecom, technology, business process outsourcing, IT, cloud and virtual currency sectors, officials said.EntertainmentVictims included highânetâworth individuals and companies across entertainment, telecom, technology, and finance.financeVictims included highânetâworth individuals and companies across entertainment, telecom, technology, and finance.TechnologyVictims included highânetâworth individuals and companies across entertainment, telecom, technology, and finance.Virtual currencyVictims included high net worth individuals and businesses in the entertainment, telecom, technology, business process outsourcing, IT, cloud and virtual currency sectors, officials said.