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- eBay Forums: Phisher Indicted - check out this ...
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From eBay Stores Forum
Phisher Indicted - check out this article
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000388887&start=0
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jan** (803 ) Jun-20-07 11:29 PDT
'Phishing' lands man in legal trouble
A Romanian immigrant was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis on charges that he operated a computerized "phishing" scheme for several years that raked in financial records and personal identification from thousands of individuals, including many from Minnesota.
By Dan Browning, Star Tribune
Last update: June 20, 2007 – 11:35 AM
A Romanian immigrant has been indicted in federal court in Minneapolis on charges that he operated a computerized "phishing" scheme for several years that raked in financial records and personal identification from thousands of individuals, including many from Minnesota.
Sergiu Daniel Popa, 20, of Shelby Township, Michigan, was indicted Tuesday on three counts of possessing 15 or more devices designed to access data on the Internet without authorization, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Popa had email addresses for more than 10,000 individuals, and investigators found evidence that he planned to solicit them to visit fraudulent web sites, where they might be tricked into leaving personal information, according to a sworn statement by Theodore Theisen, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations who works on the Minnesota Cybercrimes Task Force in Minneapolis.
"One of the collections of emails consisted of addresses of TCF Bank customers," Theisen noted.
FBI agents in Minneapolis began investigating Popa and others suspected of widespread Internet thefts in the United States and elsewhere in 2005, he wrote. The heart of the alleged thefts was a phishing scheme in which unsuspecting victims are tricked into divulging personal information to what appear to be legitimate businesses.
From May 2004 through February 2007, Popa allegedly used two Yahoo email accounts and numerous phony web sites that contained computer programming code set up to collect credit card numbers and personal information, the indictment says.
Theisen says in his affidavit, which was filed in Feb. 27 and unsealed Tuesday, that Popa also had more than 7,000 identities of victims of various phishing schemes, together with bank account, credit card and Social Security numbers, and passwords for some eBay, online banking and e-mail accounts. Popa offered to sell the stolen information to others, he said.
Popa also allegedly offered to sell "a phishing/spamming toolkit" for $1,500, with step-by-step instructions, Theisen said. Authorities found one file in his Yahoo account that contained identification and credit card information for more than 5,800 victims; 96 of these had addresses in Minnesota, and 34 of them were in Hennepin County.
Popa's emails led authorities to conclude that he has worked with others in various credit card fraud and identity theft scams. In January 2005, Theisen said, Popa sent an e-mail to one individual saying, "i am a accredited vendor in underworld. i have many scams, shop admins, and many full credit cards. i can also pull up credit reports and cash out ATMs. I charge for my services but I am great provider of everything."
Popa entered the United States on a six-month visitor visa in June 2000 and overstayed his visa illegally, Theisen said. Popa has lived with his parents and on his own in New York, and after his parents divorced, he moved with his father to Michigan.
Popa was convicted of larceny by conversion on June 12, 2006, stemming from a case in Saline, Mich. He was accused of using a hijacked eBay account to trick an individual into sending him $1,448 to buy a product that didn't exist. Popa served 71 days in confinement, Theisen said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him as a deportable alien in July, but he filed for permanent residency and sought to suppress his felony record for immigration purposes. The FBI filed a criminal complaint against him the day before he was scheduled to appear in immigration court for a deportation hearing.
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5 replies Date posted Reply #
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roc** (2313 ) Jun-20-07 16:53 PDT 1 of 5
And it ONLY took the FBI at least 2 years to arrest him. Typical. And he may still get away. And he's been an illegal alien since Jan. 2001. Geesh, how many breaks does this guy get?
Just like all those muslims involved in 9-11. The government had been watching them for years. Not that it did any good.
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mon** (Private ) Jun-20-07 18:16 PDT 2 of 5
Maybe he paid his taxes?
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spopa2006 (2 ) View Listings | Report Jun-26-07 13:34 PDT 3 of 5
Listen guys. I am Sergiu D. Popa. I am that horrible guy!
Now let me make things a bit clear for you. First and foremost, I think that the Feds are a bit mentally challenged to put me behind bars because I have access to a lot of databases and I can predict every single move one tries to make against me.
And by the way, employing the described techniques by the newspaper article I successfully obtained about 1.1 Million dollars. I never run a Western Union Scheme as the newspaper says. I run an insurance scheme and therefore there shouldn't be any complaints. Insurances have plenty of money.
They also fail to mention in the newspapers reports who I really am in terms of my education and my real story. If you would really know my background and my level of education, you would probably realize that I can listen to your phone conversation, or maybe take a refinance loan on your house without you knowing. I am really appalled by the fact that you guys are making such comments on my behalf. Who are you to judge me? You guys make me laugh.
They also failed to say that I used to work as a mortgage broker and I regret the mistakes I made by scamming insurance companies but I was only 16 at the time I was doing it. I also offered to pay restitution to the Government. However, they always have to win, and they will never accept restitution because they want to prosecute me.
I have also seen a newspaper article where I was described as speaking a broken English. Let's analyze that for a second. At 14 I was teaching Differential Equations and Mechanics at a 4 yr college in New Hampshire, and by the time I was 15 I graduated high school. I am not a wannabe. As a matter of fact, I think I read more books in my life than the whole FBI Minnesota office. If the newspapers are going to write an article about me, I ask them to tell the whole truth. Call my college professors and ask them who I really am.
I know FBI, NASA, BOP and all those other government bonehead agencies are not happy when a kid who immigrated from another country penetrates their systems, but such is life. Get used to it. If in this life, we would all have an equal level of intelligence the world would come to an end. But how would you guys know that? I bet you guys never actually read a sociology, philosophy or psychology book and actually made something out of it.
But here is a warning to everybody who will post bogus information about me:
I will make your life a hell. Do not test me. Do not post information that is not accurate. I already have enough bad publicity and I do not want more. I want to be left alone.
This also applies to the Feds. I have been a nice guy with you, but once again, you are not smart enough to catch me for one, and I would really hate to see you guys back to stone age. How much would the Feds loose if one of their databases were to be completely deleted?
I am not an evil person, but I could be if I wanted to. Let's all live in peace and harmony. Mind your own business and I will mind my own.
Very Truly Yours,
Sergiu D. Popa
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the*** (1381 ) Jun-26-07 18:32 PDT 4 of 5
Is this a joke?
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spopa2006
(2 ) View Listings | Report Jun-26-07 23:56 PDT 5 of 5
Why would you think it is a joke? Better yet, what are the reasons for which you think this is a joke?
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