[KREBSONSECURITY] Federal authorities in New Jersey announced a series of arrests and indictments of 14 individuals thought to be connected to an online one-stop shop selling embossed, counterfeit credit cards and holographic overlays.We should really be paying more attention to internet vermin like this.
According to documents released by prosecutors in New Jersey and North Carolina, the men ran or otherwise profited from the Web site fakeplastic[dot]net, which specializes in selling high-quality, custom-made counterfeit credit and debit cards, as well as holographic overlays used to create fake driver's licenses.
If you're like me, you probably don't carry more than about twenty bucks in cash anymore. I haven't written a check in six months, and when I did I had to stop and think what went where. Virtually all commerce is moving or has moved to plastic. The credit card fraudsters are the same as the guys who used to lurk in the ally and holler "gimme yer dough." Actual "money" is addition or subtraction carried out over internet between two databases.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Investigative Service began investigating fakeplastic[dot]net in January 2013. Charged with running the site is 39-year-old Sean Roberson of Palm Bay, Fla. Investigators allege that Roberson began selling counterfeit cards in April 2011, and launched the site in June 2012. Since then, Roberson and two accomplices fulfilled orders for approximately 69,000 counterfeit cards -- both embossed and unembossed; more than 35,000 holographic stickers used to make counterfeit cards appear more legitimate; and more than 30,000 state identification card holographic overlays. All of the orders -- 36,000 parcels in total -- were shipped by the site to customers via the U.S. mail.
The opportunities for terrorists, starting with Pak-based turbanry, are pretty obvious, but they're easily hidden in the grass of Nigerians, Moldovans, Russians, Chinese, and the guys operating out of cheap apartments in places nobody's ever been to.