Officials probe impersonation of White House Chief of Staff

WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles targeted in identity scam, report says

Robert Besser
01 Jun 2025, 22:51 GMT+10

Officials probe impersonation of White House Chief of Staff

U.S. federal officials are looking into an attempt by someone who pretended to be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal
The report says Wiles told people she knew that her personal phone contacts were hacked, allowing someone to pretend to be her and access private phone numbers
In recent weeks, senators, governors, top business leaders, and others received messages and calls from someone claiming to be Wiles, according to people familiar with the situation

WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. federal officials are looking into an attempt by someone who pretended to be White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The report says Wiles told people she knew that her personal phone contacts were hacked, allowing someone to pretend to be her and access private phone numbers. The hack affected her phone, not her official government phone.

In recent weeks, senators, governors, top business leaders, and others received messages and calls from someone claiming to be Wiles, according to people familiar with the situation.

The White House and FBI have not yet commented on the case.

This is not the first time the White House has faced security problems. Earlier this month, a hacker, according to Reuters, broke into the communications of former Trump adviser Mike Waltz, reaching many U.S. officials.

Also, last year, a White House official said that the U.S. believed a large Chinese cyber spying operation had been recording calls of high-level American leaders.

Because Susie Wiles is a close Trump ally and an essential figure in the White House, her phone could hold information that is very valuable to foreign spies or hostile groups.

This isn't the first time she has been targeted. In late 2024, hackers believed to be working for Iran sent messages involving Wiles to journalists and a political operative. Some of those messages were later made public.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Johannesburg Life.

More Information

null in null

International

Section

WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles targeted in identity scam, report says

WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. federal officials are looking into an attempt by someone who pretended to be White House Chief of Staff Susie...

Amazon to use New York Times content to train Alexa AI

New York Times strikes first AI licensing deal with Amazon

SEATTLE, Washington: Amazon has struck a significant deal with The New York Times to license its journalism for use in AI tools like...

Lee Jae-myung leads South Korea election race after amazing comeback

Lee Jae-myung: A comeback story in South Korean politics

SEOUL, South Korea: Lee Jae-myung, a liberal South Korean politician, is leading in the polls ahead of the June 3 snap presidential...

Mud and ice engulf evacuated Swiss village in Alps disaster

Glacier collapse buries Swiss village days after evacuation

GENEVA, Switzerland: A massive glacier collapse in the Swiss Alps sent a torrent of ice, mud, and rock crashing into the evacuated...

Critics warn Erdogan’s plan may extend rule beyond 2028

Erdogan launches legal team to draft new Constitution

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that he has appointed a group of legal experts to begin drafting...

Chemical plant blast in eastern China kills 5, injures 19; 6 missing

Search at China chemical plant for 6 missing people after blast

BEIJING, China: Six people are still missing and rescue teams continued their search on May 28 after a powerful explosion at a chemical...

Africa

Section

WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles targeted in identity scam, report says

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

International

WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles targeted in identity scam, report says

Amazon to use New York Times content to train Alexa AI

Lee Jae-myung leads South Korea election race after amazing comeback

Mud and ice engulf evacuated Swiss village in Alps disaster

Critics warn Erdogan’s plan may extend rule beyond 2028

Chemical plant blast in eastern China kills 5, injures 19; 6 missing

Africa

"Our relationship with Algeria is very old": All-party delegation member Nishikant Dubey

All-party delegation led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda meets Algerian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs chairman

"No society, no govt will accept any form of terrorism": Anurag Thakur in Ethiopia

Qatar, South Africa, and Ethiopia reassured strong support for India: Supriya Sule

All-party delegation led by Baijayant Panda pays tribute to Emir Abdelkader in Algeria

BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy highlights international support against terrorism

Movie Review

Master