Websites that allow thieves to buy and sell stolen credit card information have grown in popularity in the last few years, but now the authorities have busted two dozen people involved with such an operation.
Authorities in 13 countries have arrested 24 people for their part in a fraud scheme involving the site Carder Profit, which experts say was like an eBay for stolen credit card data, according to a report from the
New York Times. Of those arrested, 11 were located in the U.S.
"These guys represent the complete ecosystem of Internet fraud," one senior law enforcement official who requested anonymity told the newspaper. "We drew them out of the shadows with the Web site as bait."
Authorities note the site in question contained more than 400,000 stolen cards, and the bust may prevent as much as $200 million in losses, the report said.
Ondrej Krehel, chief information security officer for
Identity Theft 911, writes on his blog about the dangers hackers and online credit card thieves pose to consumers.
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