http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--identitytheft1117nov17,0,5398320.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey November 17, 2005 NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Six more people pleaded guilty Thursday to operating a Web site that investigators claimed was one of the largest online centers for trafficking in stolen identity information and credit cards. With others who pleaded guilty in recent weeks, that brings to 12 people who acknowledged roles with the site, www.shadowcrew.com, which had about 4,000 members who dealt with at least 1.5 million stolen credit card numbers and caused more than $4 million in losses, federal prosecutors said. "The losses incurred were to the issuing banks and MasterCard, Visa, American Express, who reimbursed those who were victimized by these crimes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Dowd said. Eight of those who pleaded guilty were among 19 in the United States and abroad who were indicted in October 2004 after federal agents gained control of the site during a yearlong undercover investigation by the Secret Service and other agencies. Of the remaining 11, five are fugitives and six still have charges pending. The other four who pleaded guilty were among eight people charged by a federal complaint. Among those pleading guilty Thursday was Andrew Mantovani, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz., who prosecutors said acknowledged his role as co-founder and administrator of the Shadowcrew site. He said techniques such as "phishing" and spamming were used to illegally obtain credit and bank card information, which he used to buy goods on the Internet. Phishing scams use e-mails that appear to come from banks or other financial institutions to induce recipients to verify their accounts by typing personal details - credit card information, for example - into a Web site disguised to appear legitimate. Mantovani also admitted that in September 2004 he illegally acquired about 18 million e-mail accounts with associated user names, passwords, dates of birth and other personal identification. Mantovani pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count and a count of unlawful transfer of identification to facilitate criminal conduct. Each carries up to five years in prison. The others pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count. U.S. District Judge William J. Martini scheduled sentencings for February and March. The Shadowcrew site once boasted discussion groups, in English and Russian, including one on "novelty identification, 2nd ID, Passports, and the like." Another focused on "hacking, SPAM, online anonymity tools and programs in general." -=- On the Net: U.S. Attorney's Office: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/NJ_Press/break.html _________________________________________ Earn your Master's degree in Information Security ONLINE www.msia.norwich.edu/csi Study IA management practices and the latest infosec issues. Norwich University is an NSA Center of Excellence.
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