Hacked

The SIM Farm

Oct 16, 2025
Dive into the bizarre world of a massive swatting hoax campaign that cracked a cybercrime operation in New York. Discover how SIM farms work and how they were exploited for criminal gains. Explore the motivations behind targeting high-profile figures and the legal repercussions for those involved. The conversation shifts to the fluctuating AI market, OpenAI's influence, and the controversies surrounding AI-generated talent. Lastly, they discuss the potential for AI to change creative workflows in filmmaking.
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INSIGHT

SIM Farms Are Scalable Telecom Weaponry

  • SIM farms centralize thousands of physical SIM cards to emulate massive parallel mobile phones for spam, robocalls, and fraud.
  • That infrastructure can be repurposed for large-scale crimes like coordinated swatting campaigns across states.
INSIGHT

How SIM Farms Evade Telecom Detection

  • SIM farms typically use SIM boxes, rotating SIMs across carriers, and software proxies to evade detection by telecoms.
  • Telecoms flag such behavior, so operators rotate cards and networks to stay operational.
ANECDOTE

How A Teen And Europeans Sparked A Takedown

  • Prosecutors say a teenage swatter in the U.S. worked with two Eastern European men to run a years-long swatting conspiracy.
  • Their Christmas Day spree helped law enforcement trace activity back to a New York SIM farm and dismantle the network.
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