One Hacker's Audacious Plan to Rule the Black Market in Stolen Credit Cards

[rbcp]

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_butler

The heat in Max Butler's safe house was nearly unbearable. It was the equipment's fault. Butler had crammed several servers and laptops into the studio apartment high above San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, and the mass of processors and displays produced a swelter that pulsed through the room. Butler brought in some fans, but they didn't provide much relief. The electric bill was so high that the apartment manager suspected Butler of operating a hydroponic dope farm.

But if Butler was going to control the online underworld, he was going to have to take the heat. For nearly two decades, he had honed his skills as a hacker. He had swiped free calls from local telephone companies and sneaked onto the machines of the US Air Force. Now, in August 2006, he was about to pull off his most audacious gambit yet, taking over the online black markets where cybercriminals bought and sold everything from stolen identities to counterfeiting equipment. Together, these sites accounted for millions of dollars in commerce every year, and Butler had a plan to take control of it all.

Read the rest of this really long article here: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_butler  It's really interesting stuff.  I had no idea there was such a brazen group of credit card fraudsters swapping credit card info like that.  They're just asking to get caught, using a system like that.

[z3wb]

It's really interesting stuff.  I had no idea there was such a brazen group of credit card fraudsters swapping credit card info like that.  They're just asking to get caught, using a system like that.

The end-user is the one who is most likely to get caught since he's the one who actually uses the stolen identity. And if he doesn't know who the seller really is, then he can't rat anyone out. The whole thing works out to be somewhat safe if the seller is smart enough to not actually use the card numbers and the communication between the buyer and seller is anonymous/pseudonymous, secure, and encrypted end-to-end. And if the seller keeps his big mouth shut about his operation while at the same time finds the right clients (Nigerians) who will buy his stolen information in bulk quantities, it could end up being a very profitable little scheme.

[Zazen]

the market is flooded with CC info now, prices are way way down for dumps and whatnot. This article says "He distributed price lists to potential buyers: $12 for Visa Classic, $19.50 for Visa Gold, $16.50 for MasterCard, $36 for American Express." I've been reading more recent estimates that prices have dropped to around $.50 / record.

[IN4CER]

The electric bill was so high that the apartment manager suspected Butler of operating a hydroponic dope farm.
I think thats what get most people.
It not that hard to get around you just have to loop the neutrals on the power box
and you only pay half price on the bill that you get from on.

[rbcp]

He got sentenced today.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/02/max-vision-sentencing/

PITTSBURGH — A skilled San Francisco computer intruder was sentenced Friday to 13 years in federal prison for stealing nearly two million credit card numbers from banks, businesses and other hackers — in what is the longest hacking sentence in U.S. history.

[Nod]

>Max Vision
>Sentenced to 13 years

Wonder if he saw that coming....

[Skunkworks]

He got sentenced today.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/02/max-vision-sentencing/

PITTSBURGH — A skilled San Francisco computer intruder was sentenced Friday to 13 years in federal prison for stealing nearly two million credit card numbers from banks, businesses and other hackers — in what is the longest hacking sentence in U.S. history.

Gotta say he was asking for that one bigtime. I wonder if he'll turn "white hat" once he's finally out.

[Nod]

He got sentenced today.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/02/max-vision-sentencing/

PITTSBURGH — A skilled San Francisco computer intruder was sentenced Friday to 13 years in federal prison for stealing nearly two million credit card numbers from banks, businesses and other hackers — in what is the longest hacking sentence in U.S. history.

Gotta say he was asking for that one bigtime. I wonder if he'll turn "white hat" once he's finally out.

If by white hat you mean start working for some huge corporation making shit fucking tons of money as a consultant then the answer is probably yes.

[rbcp]

I dunno, he went to prison once already.  Doesn't seem like he changed much after the first time.