FBI investigating allegations of celebrity phone hacking

The FBI is investigating allegations of phone hacking of multiple Hollywood celebrities amid reports that the cellphone accounts of Scarlett Johansson and perhaps others had been breached.

A flurry of reports that young celebrities were being victimized by hackers who obtained compromising photos first surfaced in March.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller tolf The Times that the agency was looking into a "a series of computer intrusions" by hackers, but would not identify any of the alleged victims.

I can confirm that the FBI is investigating a series of computer intrusions targeting high-profile figures," Eimiller said.

It's unclear whether all the hacking incident are connected.

More recently, there have been unconfirmed reports of a new crop of celebrities who have alleged that they had photos taken from their cellphones and email accounts. People claiming to be a hacking group have said they are responsible, though the claim could not be verified.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

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Photo: Scarlett Johansson at the 2011 Academy Awards. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times