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Rolling Stone Gathers Debit Card Criminals
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-03-31
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
A lengthy investigation of online fraud and identity theft led the US Secret Service to seven arrests with some linked to a string of debit card and PIN compromises.
The arrests bring the number of criminals apprehended to 21 in three months; Operation Rolling Stone began in 2005. While most have been for crimes committed online, some of those arrested may be part of a ring that has managed to obtain PIN numbers in great numbers. Office Max and Citibank have been mentioned in a couple of the cases, but it is not known if the recent arrests are connected to either case.
These debit card and PIN connections add to what had been an operation focused on disrupting the criminal exchange of personal information through online forums. Rolling Stone was not created to investigate the various debit card crimes, but it appears that some of the principals in that activity also participated in the forums targeted by the Secret Service.
"We continue to adapt our investigative techniques to progressively combat emerging threats to our nation's financial infrastructure," Assistant Director Brian Nagel of the U.S. Secret Service's Office of Investigations said in a statement.
Those recently arrested are being prosecuted by US Attorney's offices in Buffalo and Nashville, and by the District Attorney's office in Los Angeles, the Secret Service said. That simply hints at the breadth of the criminal activity taking place, and should be a wakeup call to people to protect their personal information as closely as possible.
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Tag: Secret Service
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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