Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

111 arrested in massive ID theft bust

Restaurant workers and bank insiders are charged in what's billed as the largest-ever ID theft round-up

Prosecutors call it the biggest identity theft bust in US 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 $US13 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.

Eighty-six of the defendants are in custody; police are looking for the remaining 25, prosecutors said.

The accused are charged with running a thoroughly modern identity theft ring that included ID thieves, skimmers, card makers, fences and shopping crews: groups that would buy thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in stores throughout the U.S.

"Many of the defendants charged today are accused of going on nationwide shopping sprees, staying at five-star hotels, renting luxury automobiles and private jets, and purchasing tens of thousands of dollars worth of high-end electronics," the Queens DA office said.

During a raid earlier this week, police seized "a box truck full of electronics, computers, shoes and watches, skimmers, card readers, embossers and various amounts of raw material, such as blank credit cards and fake identifications," the DA's office said.

Six of the accused are charged with stealing $850,000 worth of computer equipment from a Citigroup building in Long Island City last August. Prosecutors say that a former Citi employee, Steven Oluwo, and a security guard under contract to Citigroup, Angel Quinones, helped with the theft.

Apple, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Macy's and many financial institutions, including Citi, Chase Bank and Bank of America, are credited with helping with the investigation.

Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert's e-mail address is robert_mcmillan@idg.com

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Apple, IDG, Island, mobiles, Nordstrom
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: citigroup, cybercrime, Identity fraud / theft, legal, Queens County District Attorney, security
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Securing Vital Infrastructure
    A unified approach to information security can help modern vital infrastructure providers deal with evolving IT threats without compromising on communications or the demands of an increasingly mobile workforce. Flexible policies, combined with quality inbound threat detection, deep content inspection and encryption capabilities can help organisations to mitigate the risks – not just from outside the organisation, but also within it. Read this whitepaper.
    Learn more »
  • Workshifting: How IT is Changing the Way Business is Done
    While workshifting delivers powerful benefits, from increased productivity and improved cost-efficiency for both business and IT, to improved recruitment and retention, to business continuity and security, it also poses significant challenges for IT. The following discussion examines the forces driving the rapid rise of workshifting, the forms it can take, the IT challenges that must be addressed to enable it, the technologies now available to unlock its full value and the resulting benefits for the business.
    Learn more »
  • Enhancing Decision-Making, Cost-Efficiency, and Profitability With Predictive Analytics
    Today’s managers must always look at the past, present, and future. They need reports on past performance to improve operational efficiency. Business intelligence (BI) platforms such as Information Builders WebFOCUS, are providing a unified decision-support environment where managers can retrieve and analyze data about past, present, and future activities. In this paper, we will discuss the incorporation of predictive modeling capabilities into the WebFOCUS BI platform, and highlight how this advanced functionality can dramatically improve decision-making, thus reducing risk and costs while increasing revenue and profits.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments