A Russian hacker named Roman Seleznev has now pled guilty to a role in stealing credit card data and other personal information as part of a credit fraud ring known Carder.su.
To be specific, Seleznev, who has gone by the handles of Track2, Bulba and Ncux, pleaded guilty in two criminal cases to one count of participating in a racketeering enterprise and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The racketeering charge was pursued in the District of Nevada, while the conspiracy indictment was handed down in the Northern District of Georgia. His sentencing will, in turn, commence on December 11.
The guilty pleas were entered alongside admittal from Seleznev to his association with the Carder.su group beginning in January 2009. He described them as an Internet-based, international criminal enterprise who trafficked in compromised credit card data, counterfeit ID and in turn pursued identity theft, bank fraud, and other computer crimes. To protect themselves, he explained they used encrypted forums and other secure networks. He also gave information on joining them.
For his own role in the organization, Seleznev admitted to selling compromised credit card data and personal identifying information to fellow members of the organization, using an automated website to do so. It was by all accounts a simple system for users. He made it so criminals could search for the type of info they wanted, add the number of accounts they desired, place it into an Amazon-like shopping cart and check out. L.R.–a digital currency payment system–was used to exchange funds. To date, the organization is believed to have cost victims at least $50,983,166.
Seleznev also acted as a “casher” on a scheme to defraud an Atlanta-based credit and debit card transaction company in November 2008. That attempt resulted in the theft of 45.5 million debit card numbers and the theft of more than $9.4 million. To date, 33 individuals from the organization have been convicted and others are either awaiting trial or on the run.
Despite the pleas, the trial process is far from over for Seleznev. He is also a defendant in a wire fraud and hacking case in the Western District of Washington. He has been sentenced to 27 years in prison already for a scheme to hack into point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers.