A US man has been jailed for seven years following his conviction for ID theft and credit card fraud.

Jacob Vincent Green-Bressler of Tucson, Arizona was sentenced by US District Judge David C. Burylast week after pleading guilty in March to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy offences. Green-Bressler operated as an American buyer for stolen credentials obtained through various phishing scams across the world.

Green-Bressler traded in stolen credit and debit card account information of American citizens obtained from individuals located in various foreign countries, including Vietnam, Pakistan, Egypt, The Philippines, Macedonia, Romania, Estonia, Canada, Russia, the UK, Mexico, Australia and France. He bought stolen credentials from underground Internet Relay Chat rooms and forums run by cyber-crooks, as well as through private electronic messaging exchanged with his suppliers. Details sold included PIN numbers associated with compromised cards.

Armed wit these details, he made counterfeit copies of credit and debit cards, which he used to withdraw money from automated cash machine (ATMs) around the Tucson area. For example in March 2005 Green-Bressler and two co-defendants used a counterfeit credit card to withdraw $148,000 from an ATM in the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.

Investigators reckons Green-Bressler and his cohorts made 4,500 fake cards during the course of the long-running conspiracy. Suppliers were wired half the proceeds of the scam, which is thought to have raked in around $600,000. In addition to his prison term, Green-Bressler was ordered to make restitution to the victim banks and to spend three years on probation following his release.

A DoJ statement on the case can be found here. ®

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