Two Charged in Atlantic County SIM Swapping Scheme Targeting Victims Nationwide

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Authorities have charged two Atlantic County men in connection with a SIM swapping fraud scheme that targeted victims across the United States, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office reported. The FBI’s Financial Crimes Task Force began investigating after multiple victims reported being defrauded through SIM swapping, a method where criminals take control of a victim’s phone number by transferring it to a device they control. The investigation identified Cory Kott, 35, of Mays Landing, and Omar Lopez, 45, of Atlantic City, as the suspects. According to authorities, Kott and Lopez used social media to initiate contact with victims, then took control of their phone numbers. This allowed them to access the victims’ emails, financial apps, iCloud accounts, and social media profiles. With this access, the suspects impersonated victims to open credit cards, falsify driver’s licenses, and carry out banking transactions, including transferring and withdrawing funds. Authorities also reported that at least one victim’s compromised credit card was used to fund an online gaming account. Kott faces multiple charges, including identity theft, computer crimes, forgery, credit card fraud, theft by deception, and money laundering. Lopez is charged with credit card fraud and theft by deception.