According to court documents, in November 2008,
Pleshchuk, TšurikovandCovelin allegedly obtained unauthorized
access into the computer network of RBS WorldPay,
the US payment processing division of the Royal
Bank of Scotland Group PLC, located in Atlanta. The
indictment alleges that the group used sophisticated
hacking techniques to compromise the data encryption
that was used by RBS WorldPay to protect customer
data on payroll debit cards. Payroll debit cards are
used by various companies to pay their employees. By
using a payroll debit card, employees are able to
withdraw their regular salaries from an ATM.
Once
the encryption on the card processing system was
compromised, the hacking ring allegedly raised the
account limits on compromised accounts, and then
provided a network of "cashers" with 44 counterfeit
payroll debit cards, which were used to withdraw
more than $9m from over 2,100 ATMs in at
least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the
United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong
Kong, Japan and Canada. The $9m loss occurred
within a span of less than 12 hours.
The hackers then allegedly sought to destroy data
stored on the card processing network in order to
conceal their hacking activity. The indictment
alleges that the "cashers" were allowed to keep 30
to 50% of the stolen funds, but transmitted
the bulk of those funds back to Tšurikov, Pleshchuk
and other co-defendants, using means such as
WebMoney accounts and Western Union. Throughout the
duration of the cash-out, Pleshchuk and Tšurikov
allegedly monitored the fraudulent ATM withdrawals
in real-time from within the computer systems of RBS
WorldPay.
Tšurikov also distributed fraudulently obtained
debit card account numbers and PIN codes to others
in the ring in Estonia who allegedly withdrew approximately
$289,000 in US funds from ATMs in Tallinn,
Estonia.
The indictment charging Tšurikov and his
co-defendants seeks forfeiture of over $9.4m
of proceeds of the crimes.
Tšurikov, Pleshchuk,
Covelin, and "Hacker 3" each face a maximum
US sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Since the United States indictment was announced
in November 2009, Tšurikov has been convicted in Estonia of fraud
relating to ATM withdrawals.
Vladislav Anatolievich
Horohorin, 27, aka "BadB"
of Moscow, who was
arrested in France, was
indicted by a federal
grand jury in November
2009 on charges of
access device fraud and
aggravated identity
theft.
"In just
the last week, we’ve
seen an alleged hacker
extradited to the United
States to face charges,
and now, a credit card
data dealer arrested
abroad on U.S. charges,"
said
Assistant Attorney
General Lanny A. Breuer
of the Criminal
Division. "Cyber
criminals who target
US citizens should not
fool themselves into
believing they can elude
justice simply because
they commit crimes
outside of our borders.
As this and so many
other cases demonstrate,
working hand in hand
with our partners around
the globe, we will do
everything in our power
to bring these criminals
to the United States to
answer for their alleged
crimes."
According to the US
indictment, Horohorin was the subject of an
undercover investigation by US Secret Service
agents. Horohorin, who is a citizen of Israel and
the Ukraine, allegedly used online criminal forums
such as "CarderPlanet" and "carder.su"
to sell stolen credit card information, known as
"dumps," to online purchasers around the world.
According to the indictment, Horohorin, using the
online name "BadB," advertised the
availability of stolen credit card information
through these web forums, and directed purchasers to
create accounts at "dumps.name," a
fully-automated dumps vending website operated by
Horohorin and hosted outside the United States. The
website was designed to assist in the exchange of
funds for the stolen credit card information.
Horohorin allegedly directed buyers to fund their
"dumps.name" account using funds transferred by
services including "Webmoney," an online
currency service hosted in Russia. The purchaser
would then access the "dumps.name" website
and select the desired stolen credit card data.
Using an online undercover identity, US Secret
Service agents negotiated the sale of numerous
stolen credit card dumps.
