Fergie's Tech Blog

UK: Jailed ID Thieves Thwart Cops With Crypto

Tom Espiner writes on ZDNet:

Three men have been jailed in the U.K. for their part in a massive data theft operation.

One of the accused ringleaders of the gang, Anton Dolgov--also known as Gelonkin--was sentenced to six years at London's Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday for his part in the theft of millions of dollars from victims in countries including the U.K. and the U.S.

The ID thieves used stolen credit card numbers and created false identities to buy high-end electronics and other goods, which they then resold on eBay, prosecutors said.

The gang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, obtain services by deception, acquire, use and possess criminal property, and conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property.

One of the gang members, Aleksei Kostap, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice, and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

When the gang's premises were raided by the members of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Kostap was handcuffed with his hands in front of his body. He managed to leap up and flick an electrical switch which wiped databases that could have contained records of the gang's activities stretching back more than 10 years, SOCA said.

Kostap's action also triggered intricate layers of encryption on the gang's computer systems, which SOCA's experts were unable to crack, the court heard.

posted by Fergie @ 12/18/2006 11:15:00 AM