Darknet Diaries

181: Ricky

1h 23min

This episode of Darknet Diaries tells the story of Ricky Handshoemaker, a former baseball star who became a prolific sim swapper and crypto thief, stealing millions from victims by hijacking their phone numbers and social media accounts. The episode explores his escalation from cheating in Halo 3 to federal crimes, the devastating impact on victims like Mark, and the human cost of losing time with family. Ricky eventually served time in prison and now works to use his skills ethically.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Ricky’s transition from DDoSing in Halo 3 to stealing cryptocurrency wallets worth millions, all through social engineering and sim swapping
2

The victim Mark’s story: he lost 2.2 Bitcoin to a sim swap despite having account protections, and continues to suffer from digital PTSD years later
3

Ricky’s mother Debbie was a nurse at the jail where he was booked, and had no clue about his double life until the day of his arrest
4

The ease of the attack: Ricky would call Amazon or eBay to get partial phone numbers, then use data brokers to dox targets and sim swap their phones
5

After prison, Ricky now works with a former rival to build a pentesting company, trying to use his skills for good

💬 Notable Quotes

"_"I'm making more than people make in a lifetime, or more than a decade of their salary, and I'm making that in 10 minutes."_ — Ricky Handshoemaker"
"_"The worst part was the victims. Because I mean they didn't deserve it."_ — Ricky Handshoemaker"
"_"Most hacking is hacking the human mind. It's trying to get you to make a mistake or get a company, somebody that works at a company you rely on, to make a mistake._ — Mark Reitman"