The Bangkok Post’s article on a Malaysian man’s arrest and extradition to the U.S., charged with identity theft, a part of a prosecution begun in 2008, exposes potentially the 12th person known only by his handle “Delpiero”. The man will be extradited for theft and sale of over 40 million credit card numbers and personal information. From a 2008 article reporting the original case:
“Indictments against Hung-Ming Chiu and Zhi Zhi Wang, both of China, and a person known only by the online nickname “Delpiero” were also unsealed in San Diego.”
Damages from the hack(s) were not estimated in 2008: ‘”They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques that would allow them to breach security systems and install programs that gathered enormous quantities of personal financial data, which they then allegedly either sold to others or used themselves,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey said at a news conference. “And in total, they caused widespread losses by banks, retailers, and consumers. Mukasey called the total dollar amount of the alleged theft “impossible to quantify at this point”‘, but the Bangkok Post article seems to cite an estimated $150 million for the ring’s take.
[...] Delpiero Nabbed? from ThreatFire Blog | Tuesday, March 09, 2010 The Bangkok Post’s article on a Malaysian man’s arrest and extradition to the U.S., charged with identity theft, a part of a prosecution begun in 2008, exposes potentially the 12th person known only by his handle “Delpiero”. The man will be extradited for theft and sale of over 40 million credit card numbers and personal information. [...]
I am not sure identity theft is considered a “white collar crime,” but I have long said that crimes that violate the public confidence, are far worse than most street crimes. If a mugger steals my wallet, he hurts me, and by extension, my family, but when a guy scams “the system” he hurts millions and worse, destroys the confidence we have in our institutions. Life in prison would not be to harsh a sentence for this type of “sociopath.” The collective “man-days” lost to the people working to repair the damage done to their lives and credit, far exceed the number of “man-days,” these guys would serve in a life sentence.