Slashdot Mirror
Massive Online ID Fraud Ring Busted
Iphtashu Fitz writes "CNet News is reporting that the US Secret Service in conjunction with authorities in six foreign countries have arrested 28 people in the last 48 hours on charges of identity theft, computer fraud, credit card fraud and conspiracy. Dubbed Operation Firewall, the Secret Service identified a group of people who stole over 1.7 million credit card numbers as well as a passport-forging facility in Bulgaria. The investigation started in July 2003 when the Secret Service began investigating an unspecified financial crime. They identified the website Shadowcrew.com whose members traded tutorials and information about identity theft and forgery and exchanged sensitive personal and financial information. The Shadowcrew website has since undergone a makeover thanks to the Secret Service. A press release about the operation can also be found on their website."
... how long before the US Secret Service gets served a writ by the RIAA for damages related to the use of the Mission Impossible theme tune? ;)
Life is like a sewer; what you get out of it depends on what you put into it...
I like the phrase: :-)
Aren't they supposed to be secret?
"CONTACT YOUR LOCAL UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE FIELD OFFICE....BEFORE WE CONTACT YOU!!"
Yeah! like I know where the local offices are
Is it like a franchise? You get macdonalds and right next to it "your local us secret service office"!
Great!
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
What I would really like, more than the arrest of identity thieves, is the entire identification system become more immune to this kind of theft. By simply eliminating the suspects, the actual threats posed by them have only been reduced in number, not in level of threat. All those identity insecurities still exist in the system waiting to be taken advantage of the next time some palooka decides it's worth it to skim off a few credit card numbers.
I surely don't have the solution to fix the identity theft problem. In fact, I would leave it to my colleagues here at Slashdot who are much more knowledgable about security issues than I am to hammer out the fine details of a more secure system.
As we become more dependent upon our identification numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and every other number which identifies and tracks us, we open ourselves up to this kind of identity theft threat. The solution is not simply to lock up the perpetrators, it must be a technical solution which makes it difficult or impossible to steal an identity.
I'm not a US citizen, so I may well be mistaken, but the USSS is part of the Department of Treasury. One of their better known mission is to deal with couterfeit money (beside of protecting the POTUS).
Since ID theft has the potential of screwing up the financial system in a rather major way, I'm not too surprised they got involved on that case.
Anyway, the idea of "defacing" the site was bloddy brilliant. It gives the strong message that the Law can get to the frauders level in order to catch them. I'm pretty sure the message got through to a few people in a much stronger way than a simple press release would have.
Darkprofits and Shadowcrew.com? Come on.... they should have gone with shinyfunplace.com or fluffylegitimateactivity.com...
What do you expect to happen if you run imgoingtokillthepresident.com? Happy fun time?
yo.
well lets think about this. 1) Take it down: 3972 members thinking "oh the site's just down temporarily" 2) Put up the cool USSS site: 3972 members scared for their lives so that they stop their illegal activities and turn themselves in to USSS. (Not to mention have a mental breakdown next time they see Mission Impossible!) Hmm..I think it's a damn good decision.
Identity theft can destroy people, literally.
Identity theft, the worlds leading cause of spontaneous human combustion. Four out of five leading physicists agree.
In Soviet Russia, the Secret Service local field office contacts YOU before you contact them!
Back on topic, at my last job I worked with the FBI and Secret Service on bank fraud, kiddie porn, etc cases that were hosted on our web servers. Think what you may about them, but they really have their shit together on these types of events and are dead eager to get the offenders in question. The smart person, if they are trying to do anything highly illegal, would do well to go about their business without using the internet. Once you get the attention of the Feds, its usually lights out for the perp. One case I assisted with was a conspirancy ring involving the sale of illegal guns in the UK, using a US based hosting company (my old job). That case broke earlier this year with several arrests and the destruction of the ring. Scotland Yard was the lead on it with backup from the FBI, with cheerful cooperation from us. Our policy was not to go "fishing" for questionble content on our web servers, but once we were made of illegal activity we would preserve evidence and work with the authorities. I've seen pictures on some website that puts tubgirl to shame, usually involving kids. Made me happy when the Feds would follow up with us and would tell us that they got their man (or men)...
"As the intrepid kobold companion continues his journey, he begins to wonder... if priests raises dead, why anybody die?
Apparently they stole several tags as well. Be on the lookout...
Let's get one thing perfectly clear, I did not vote for George W Bush, and I do not endorse what he does or says.
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