11 Identity Thieves Steal 40 Million Credit Cards

August 5, 2008 – 2:36 pm

Today the US Justice Department is prosecuting its largest case of identity theft to date. It has charged eleven people with the theft of over 40 million credit and debit card numbers. Members of the criminal ring included 3 men form America, two from China, three from Ukraine, one from Estonia, and one from Belarus. The ring was said to have been led by Albert Gonzalez, who hacked into the credit card systems of many businesses. Some of the businesses affected were OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, TJX, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Forever 21 and DSW Inc. The crime ring faces charges for identity theft, conspiracy, computer fraud, and many other serious charges.

If you shop at any of the affected retailers and use a credit or debit card, you may well already be among the 40 million victims. Most victims of identity theft don’t even become aware of the crimes until long after the criminal has gotten away with it. This is why LifeLock keeps a constant watch over its customers to combat and correct these crimes before it’s too late. Life lock catches thieves when they actually try to steal your money. It operates on the assumption that your identity has already been compromised. This is why Lifelock CEO Todd Davis was confident enough to publicly advertise his social security number* for years without actually losing any money. After thousands of failed attempts, one identity thief managed to get a $500 loan in his name, but he was immediately reimbursed the full amount by the life lock guarantee.**

*Never share your Social Security number unnecessarily.
**Guarantee applies only if you become an id theft victim because of a failure in our service. Other restrictions apply. See LifeLock.com for details.

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