Fergie's Tech Blog

Businessweek: Meet The Hackers

Via Businessweek Online.

Dimitry Ivanovich Golubov doesn't look like an arch criminal. A baby-faced 22-year-old Ukrainian, he is described by his lawyer as an unassuming part-time student at Mechnikov University in Odessa.

But when the Ukrainian police arrested him last July for his involvement in credit-card fraud, U.S. law enforcement officials hailed it as a big break in their fight against cybercrime. Subsequently, in January, 2006, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of California charged Golubov with a number of cybercrimes, including credit-card fraud. An affidavit by a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation states that Golubov held the title of "Godfather" for "an international ring of computer hackers and Internet fraudsters that has...trafficked in millions of stolen credit card numbers and financial information."

U.S. Postal Inspection Service senior investigator Gregory S. Crabb, who worked with Ukrainian authorities on their case, says Golubov and others controlled the numbers, names, and security codes attached to credit cards. Low-level criminals would use that to load up fake cards and withdraw cash from automated teller machines or buy merchandise. "Golubov was known as the go-to guy," says Crabb.

But last December, Golubov's story took a bizarre twist. Two Ukrainian politicians, including Vladimir Demekhin, deputy chairman of the Energy Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, vouched for Golubov's character in court.

posted by Fergie @ 5/19/2006 07:02:00 AM