Cybercrime – A 34 year old man from Bonn has been sentenced to six years in prison for five hundred instances of fraud and falsifying documents. The man, a ringleader of a gang of four hackers, stole T-Online customer data and credit card data to shop online.

Hacker jailed for online deception ©-Erwin-Wodicka-Fotolia
Hacker jailed for online deception ©-Erwin-Wodicka-Fotolia

Hackers targeted eBay accounts

The group also hacked online auction accounts to offer products for sale, such as games, brand-named clothes, electronic goods and computer accessories, which did not exist. Several thousand people are thought to have fallen victim to the scam. The sham auction alone caused losses of 100,000 euros.

Rare insight into hacker methods

A member of the gang was caught by police in December 2012 after he was using an unencrypted PC. The police were able to gain an in-depth insight into the methods used by the gang to perpetrate their internet crimes.
The hacker gave the police detailed information which led to the arrest and conviction of the group’s ringleader.