Posted on 04/20/2015 1:39:49 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
The In the fall of 2011, the U.S. Secret Service orchestrated a sting operation. The target was a Vietnamese man named Hieu Minh Ngo. Investigators believed he was a big-time identity thief who sold packages of data known as “fullz,” each of which typically included a person’s name, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, Social Security number, and e-mail address and password. Criminals could buy fullz from Ngo for as little as eight cents and then use them to open credit cards, take out loans, or file for bogus tax refunds. They could also pay Ngo for access to a vast database of people’s personal records.
As part of the operation, an agent attempted to buy the identities of hundreds of U.S. citizens. In such illegal transactions—be they for drugs, guns, or stolen identities—finding a payment system that both sides trust can be tricky. Cash is safest because it leaves no record. But handing over a briefcase stuffed with bills isn’t an option when the parties are on opposite sides of the planet. Ngo suggested an alternative. In an e-mail to the agent, he offered simple instructions: “Please pay to our LR: U8109093.”
The eight-digit code was Ngo’s account number. LR stood for Liberty Reserve, a digital currency somewhat similar to bitcoin. Users could buy LRs, as they were known, for $1 apiece and use them to pay anyone else who had a Liberty Reserve account. They could also store their money in the system. It was, in effect, a bank, a digital currency, and a payment method in one. For criminals like Ngo, the appeal of dealing in LRs was anonymity. Whereas traditional banks require you to provide at least one official form of identification, Liberty Reserve didn’t verify users’ identities. All they needed was an e-mail address.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
HILLARY’S CAMAPIGN FOUNDATION....
UNDER WORLD FUNDING.....
goddess of the under world.
ID theft should be treated like Horse Theft was in the old west...
they’re interested in identity theft?
i’m pretty sure they’ll find at least one at 1600 pennsylvania ave
Same with carjacking....
We don’t need to talk about the Bank of the Overworld. “We RIPPED THEIR FACES OFF” is the conventional boast.
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