FraudBaron.com

Self Proclaimed "Godfather of Spam" Sentenced in Pump and Dump Stock Scheme

justice.gov | 11/27/09 | suspect: Alan Ralsky

Four individuals were sentenced today for their roles in a wide-ranging international stock fraud scheme involving the illegal use of bulk commercial e-mails, or "spamming."

Two Guilty in Identity Theft and ATM Skimming Scheme

atlanta.fbi.gov | 11/11/09 | $200,000 | suspect:  Romulus Bacian and Marius Csapay

ROMULUS BACIAN, 40, and MARIUS ENACHE CSAPAY, 45, both of Romania, pleaded guilty today to their roles in a conspiracy to steal ATM/debit card account information from hundreds of Washington Mutual customers using “skimming” equipment they illegally affixed to ATMs around the metro Atlanta area.

Bernanke was victim of identity fraud

reuters.com | 8/31/09 | victim:  Ben Bernake

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole more than $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions across the United States, Newsweek magazine reported on its website.

Ex-Gov Informant/Hacker "soupnazi" Charged in Largest Indentity Theft Scam

ap.google.com | 8/18/09 |

Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Miami man with the largest case of credit and debit card data theft ever in the United States, accusing the one-time government informant of swiping 130 million accounts on top of 40 million he stole previously.

Two Charged in Denver Identity Theft Ring

bizjournals.com | 8/17/09 | $80 million | suspect: Natallia Vishevskaya

Federal authorities arrested four people and searched more than a dozen locations in the Denver metro area Friday morning as part of an investigation into a criminal fraud ring that may have cost multiple banks more than $80 million.

Seven Sentenced in Identity Theft Scheme

washingtondc.fbi.gov | 8/6/09  | $5 million |  suspect:  Abul Hameed

Seven conspirators have now been sentenced for stealing more than $5 million through a fraud scheme involving identity theft and credit card, bank and mortgage fraud.

Weakness in Social Security Numbers Is Found

 nytimes.com | 7/10/09  |

The nation’s Social Security numbering system has left millions of citizens vulnerable to privacy breaches, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University  , who for the first time have used statistical techniques to predict Social Security numbers solely from an individual’s date and location of birth.

Woman Counterfeits Credit Cards with Skimming Device

usdoj.gov | 6/24/09 | $48,000 | suspect:  Gintare Skinyte

Gintare Sakinyte, aka Moyassar Issa, age 27, pled guilty last week to committing fraud and related criminal activity in connection with the false use of counterfeit credit cards.  Sakinyte used fraudulent credit cards to purchase iPods at Target stores in Chicago, Illinois and throughout the Front Range, including Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Court Ruling Challenges ID Theft Protection Services

dispatch.com | 6/1/09 | ID Theft

Companies that sell "identity theft protection" present an alluring but questionable proposition.

For as much as about $100 per year, the main thing they do is set fraud alerts that force banks to call people before new lines of credit are opened in their name. The alerts can be useful - but people can set them themselves, at no cost.  Now even that function could be taken away from the ID theft-prevention services.

Romanian Extradited to US for Identity Theft

minneapolis.fbi.gov | 5/26/09 | $700,000 | Sergiu Daniel Popa

A 23-year-old Romanian national was sentenced today in federal court for possessing unauthorized credit card numbers in connection with an Internet “phishing” scheme to collect personal information of individuals and sell it.