111 arrested in massive ID theft bust

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220655/111_arrested_in_massive_ID_theft_bust

By Robert McMillan
IDG News Service
October 7, 2011

Prosecutors call it the biggest identity theft bust in U.S. history. On 
Friday, 111 bank tellers, retail workers, waiters and alleged criminals 
were charged with running a credit-card-stealing organization that stole 
more than $13 million in less than a year-and-a-half.

"This is by far the largest -- and certainly among the most 
sophisticated -- identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law 
enforcement has come across," the Queens County District Attorney's 
office said in a statement announcing the arrests.

The credit card numbers came from far and wide: from skimming operations 
in the U.S., where restaurant employees or retail cashiers were paid to 
steal credit card data from customers; from carder forums on the 
Internet; and also from shady overseas suppliers in countries such as 
Russia, China and Libya.

In all, five groups of criminals were targeted in the two-year law 
enforcement operation, dubbed "Operation Swiper." Together, they ran the 
full gamut of criminal activities required to steal credit card numbers 
and convert that data into cash, prosecutors said.

[...]


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