On-Line Sting Nets Data Theft Suspects

An on-line invitation to buy stolen computer data led to the arrest of six computer users and the seizure of more than 20 computer systems, the U.S. Secret Service announced Monday.

“Operation Cybersnare” sought computer users who were dealing in stolen cellular telephone and credit card data worth millions of dollars, said Peter A. Cavicchia II, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s office for New Jersey, where the sting was based.

Agents have arrested suspects in California, Michigan, Texas, and Brooklyn, N.Y. They also grabbed computer hardware and data in those states as well as Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey and Virginia.

“What we really did was set up an old-fashioned ‘swag shop’ in cyberspace,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna A. Krappa, who is prosecuting the case. A swag shop is an establishment where stolen goods are traded.

The eight-month investigation was based in Bergen County, where an undercover Secret Service agent was using the name “Carder One.”