A worldwide FBI-led sting operation, dubbed Operation Card Shop, targeting illegal credit card information traffickers has led to the arrest of at least 24 cybercriminals from13 countries.
The arrest came following a 2-year undercover FBI investigation across the globe.
The US-led operation tracked those dealing in information using a fake, “FBI-run online forum on such carding schemes,” reported the BBC.
The suspects are men between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Some could face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty of the fraud-related charges.
Twelve of those arrested were in the United States, six in the UK.
One of those apprehended, Mir Islam, known on the Internet as “JoshTheGod”, faces charges for trafficking an estimated 50,000 stolen credit card numbers, according to BBC Online.
The FBI notified credit card providers of compromised accounts in the neighborhood of 400,000.
The operation, according to US officials, prevented losses of over US$205 million from credit and debit cards.
The operation concentrated around an online forum named Carder Profit the FBI had set up in June 2010. The forum allowed users to exchange stolen account and card numbers.
The FBI arrested the alleged cybercriminals in Europe, US, Asia and Australia.
