Operation FirewallIn what it called an "Information Age undercover investigation", the US Secret Service announced that it
has arrested 28 people from eight US states and six countries allegedly involved in a global organised cybercrime ring.
Charges filed against the suspects include identity theft, computer fraud, credit card fraud and conspiracy.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Firewall, resulted in what the Secret Service described as a significant
disruption of organised criminal activity online that was targeting the financial infrastructure of the US. The
suspects are alleged to have collectively trafficked in at least 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers.
Financial institutions have estimated their losses associated with the suspects targeted by the investigation to be
more than .3m (£2.3m).
"Led by the Secret Service Newark Field Office, investigators from nearly 30 domestic and foreign Secret
Service offices and their global law enforcement counterparts have prevented potentially hundreds of millions of
dollars in loss to the financial and hi-tech communities," said Secret Service director W Ralph Basham.
"These suspects targeted the personal and financial information of ordinary citizens, as well as the
confidential and proprietary information of companies engaged in e-commerce."
Operation Firewall began in July 2003 and quickly evolved into a transnational investigation of global credit card
fraud and online identity theft.
The underground criminal groups have been identified as Shadowcrew, Carderplanet and Darkprofits. The organisations
operated websites used to traffic counterfeit credit cards and false identification information and documents. The
groups allegedly used the sites to share information on how to commit fraud and sold the stolen information and the
tools needed to commit such crimes.
International law enforcement organisations that took part in the investigation and arrests included the UK's
National Hi-Tech Crimes Unit, the Vancouver Police Department's Financial Crimes Section, the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police and Europol.
Officials in Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Ukraine also were involved.
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