Carder Admits to Trafficking that Led to Losses of $36 Million

A hacker whose dealings in stolen credit card information resulted in losses of $36 million, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one of access device fraud today.

Rogelio Hackett, Jr., 26, was arrested in 2009 after he was caught selling stolen credit card details on underground forums and on IRC.

A number of over 675,000 credit card records were found on his computers when authorities searched his home.

Fraudulent activity corresponding to the credit cards numbers found in Hackett's possession amounted to over $36 million.

According to a statement of facts, Hackett has began hacking for profit in 2002 and his preferred attack method was SQL injection.

Using this technique, in 2007 the hacker broke into the severs of an online ticketing sercvices provider and stole almost 360,000 credit card details.

Hackett was a trusted vendor of stolen credit card information on underground forums. He charged between $20 and $25 for details complete with track data.

The hacker earned over $70,000 from the selling of stolen credit card data, but also received another $80,000 from fraudulently acquired Western Union orders. In addition, he had others buy gift cards for him using credit card details he supplied.

Hackett used the money to buy himself a 2001 BMW X5 and other expensive goods. He was arrested by the US Secret Service after a successful sting operation that resulted in him selling 40 stolen card numbers to undercover agents for over $1,000.

According to Wired, the hacker is scheduled for sentencing on July 22. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the access device charge, and an additional two years and a $250,000 for identity theft.