Police in Buenos Aires have taken a 19-year-old man into custody on charges of orchestrating a hacker ring that stole $50,000 a month. The teenager, who has been dubbed a “superhacker” by the press, faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty.
Argentine police raided the home of the man, who has not so far
been named, on Friday in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San
Cristobal. Investigators are also examining the role the
suspect’s father and brother played in his online fraud ring.
“Police have detained a young superhacker, leader of a network
of seven people specializing in electronic fraud and complex
financial diversions through money transfers and a games
website,” a statement read.
Officers said the “superhacker” had set up a
“technological cave” with high-capacity computers which he
used as a base to administer his online fraud network. Police
seized electronic equipment, including cables, routers and over
14 hard drives.
Prior to the raid, police cut off power to the entire block
“so that the hacker could not delete key information and
evidence.”
“The house was full of computers. We believe that he [the
hacker] and his brother had created such a lucrative business
that their parent chose not to ask what was going on,” a
police source told Argentine daily Clarin.
Investigators believe that the “superhacker” funneled over
$50,000 into an account in the city of Rosario, about 310
kilometers north of Buenos Aires. Using malware the teenager
created a network of computers which diverted money illegally
from accounts, leaving virtually no trace behind.
‘Operation zombie’
Buenos Aires police had been on the tail of the
“superhacker” for over a year. His activities were brought
to the attention of the Argentinian authorities by a businessman
who ran a hosting website, where he noticed someone was
interfering with money transfers.
“Web users fell victim to a malware virus used by the
hacker,” said the Argentine Minister of Security. So that
Internet users would not notice their money being illegally
transferred, the “superhacker” carried out a
denial-of-service attack, overloading the server and making it
impossible for users to access their accounts.