US cuffs crooks behind nationwide credit card fraud


Scammers used over 4,000 credit cards they bought on the dark web to make retail purchases worth $1.5m.

A 31-year-old from the Bronx pleaded guilty in a bank fraud case, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said. Trevor Osagie admitted being a ringleader behind a nationwide fraud involving thousands of bank accounts.

According to the DoJ statement, Osagie had a network of associates who travelled around the United States purchasing gift cards, flights, hotels, rental cars, and other goods and services. The gang used stolen credit card data they got from the dark web and other sources.

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“In addition to recruiting at least one individual to create the fraudulent credit cards, Osagie managed the individuals who travelled around the United States conducting the fraudulent transactions,” the DoJ said.

Authorities believe that fraudsters made purchases worth $1.5m and used data from over 4,000 stolen credit cards. The crime Osagie is accused of carries a hefty punishment of up to 30 years in prison.

Credit card data is sold cheaply on the dark web. However, threat actors bundle data together to get the most out of the data. Researchers recently found that threat actors could sell 160k compromised cards for $3.3m on underground forums.