A hacker that was found holding more than 675,000 stolen credit card numbers pleaded guilty Thursday before a U.S. District Judge in Alexandria, Virginia.
According to court documents, U.S. Secret Service special agents executing a search warrant in 2009 at Hackett’s home found more than 675,000 stolen credit card numbers and related information in his computers and email accounts. Hackett admitted in a court filing that since at least 2002, he has been trafficking in credit card information he obtained either by hacking into business computer networks and downloading credit card databases, or purchasing the information from others using the Internet through various “carding forums.” These forums are online discussion groups used by “carders” to traffic in credit card and other personal identifying information.
Hackett is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2011. He will face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss, on the access device fraud charge, and an additional mandatory two years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the identity theft charge.
Read More Cybercrime Columns in the SecurityWeek Cybercrime Section