One hacker stole 130m credit cards

Washington: A 28-year-old man was charged with the largest credit card theft ever in the US, in which more than 130 million card numbers were stolen, the justice department said.

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, Florida, and two co-conspirators were accused of hacking into the computer networks of firms supporting major American retail sand financial organizations and stealing data. The two co-conspirators were not named and were identified in the indictment handed down in New Jersey only as “Hacker 1” and “Hacker2” living “in or near Russia”.

Beginning in October 2006, Gonzalez used a sophisticated hacking technique to get around firewalls and steal information related to more than 130 million credit and debit cards, the justice Department said in a statement. “The scheme is believed to constitute the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the US Department of Justice,” the US attorney’s office for New Jersey said.

An unspecified potion of the stolen credit card numbers were then sold online, and some were used to make unauthorized purchases and withdrawals from banks.

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