----- Original Message ----- To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 6:34 PM Subject: Hacker Uses Forbes List to Steal > Reclaim the Streets NYC - http://reclaimthestreetsnyc.tao.ca > > --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- > Build a marketing database and send targeted HTML and text e-mail > newsletters > to your customers with List Builder. > http://www.listbuilder.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > >Hacker Uses Forbes List to Steal > > > > > >By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > > > > > > > >Filed at 8:46 p.m. ET > > > > > > > >NEW YORK (AP) -- A restaurant busboy is accused of using the > >Internet and Forbes' list of the richest people in America in a > >scheme to steal millions from such figures as Steven Spielberg, > >Warren Buffett, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Ross Perot and Ted > >Turner. > > > >Police are calling it one of the most ambitious identify-theft > >schemes they have seen. They are still tracing the complex > >electronic trail to determine exactly how much was stolen, but fear > >it could be well into the millions. > > > >New York police investigators arrested Abraham Abdallah, a > >32-year-old high school dropout, on March 7 as he allegedly picked > >up equipment to make phony credit cards. > > > >Court papers say Abdallah was carrying the Social Security numbers, > >home addresses and birth dates of 217 CEOs, celebrities and > >tycoons. The information was scribbled in the margins of a tattered > >copy of Forbes' ``The 400 Richest People in America.'' > > > >Abdallah, police say, also had more than 400 stolen credit card > >numbers, including some that were used to buy about $100,000 of > >dollars of computer equipment and gold coins. > > > >``All those people ... have not been compromised,'' said Chief of > >Detectives William Allee, referring to the Forbes 400. ``The ones > >we believe have been compromised, we've contacted.'' > > > >Abdallah, charged with multiple counts of criminal impersonation, > >forgery and fraud, is being held on $1 million bail. Authorities > >said he has a long record of arrests for various schemes, and at > >the time of his arrest was on supervised release for a federal bank > >fraud conviction. He once even appeared as an ``expert'' on a > >training video on fraud prevention prepared for credit card > >companies. > > > >Defense attorney Sam Gregory said Abdallah is innocent. Prosecutors > >``made an unfair leap from possession of this information to an > >inference that there was an attempt to take money,'' said Gregory, > >who declined further comment. > > > >Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik described Abdallah as ``someone > >who was very innovative, very creative. ... He didn't try to pry. > >He was very organized. He would go one step at a time to build his > >database.'' > > > >The alleged scheme was uncovered when an e-mail request to transfer > >$10 million from a Merrill Lynch account belonging to Thomas > >Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, raised red flags, police said. > > > >Siebel said he never made the request and Merrill Lynch contacted > >authorities. > > > >The trail of evidence led police to mailboxes rented by Abdallah > >under the names of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, and James > >Cayne, head of Bear Stearns, court papers said. He allegedly used > >the addresses to order merchandise using their credit card numbers. > > > >A spokesman for Allen said the businessman was cooperating with > >authorities. Turner, media mogul Michael Bloomberg and Spielberg > >were unaware that their identities may have been stolen, > >representatives said. Cayne, Perot, Winfrey, Buffet and Stewart > >declined comment. > > > >A spokeswoman for George Lucas said the movie producer had not been > >affected by alleged scam. > > > >Investigators say Abdallah used computers at a local library, > >Web-enabled cell phones and virtual voicemail during a six-month > >scam that involved duping credit reporting companies such as > >Equifax into providing reports on his rich victims. > > > >He allegedly used the data to gain access to credit cards and > >accounts at brokerage houses such as Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns > >and Merrill Lynch. > > > >Equifax said it had no evidence of fraudulent access to its files, > >and had not yet been contacted by authorities. > > > >Experts said the case was a glaring example of how access to > >private data on the Internet has helped make identity fraud one of > >the fastest growing white-collar crimes. > > > >Martin Biegelman, a former Postal Service inspector, recalled using > >Abdallah to make the training video as part of a plea deal in the > >mid-1980s. > > > >``He agreed to go on camera as a reformed criminal,'' Biegelman > >said. ``He was talking about fraud, how easy it was. ... He said he > >wasn't going to do it again.'' > > > >http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Forbes-List-Hacker.html?searchpv=ap online?ex=986212427&ei=1&en=78f1197e591527ee > > > >/-----------------------------------------------------------------\ > > > > > >Visit NYTimes.com for complete access to the > >most authoritative news coverage on the Web, > >updated throughout the day. > > > >Become a member today! 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