The Russians Are Coming!

Recall an earlier item in Spotlight about the Russians in England and elsewhere who were evidently involved in stealing credit card numbers. Now, CardLine reports that Alexey Ivanof, 20, and Vasiliy Gorshkov, 25, from Chelyankinsk, Russia, have been arrested by Seattle law enforcement officers. The 20-count indictment charges that they broke into the computers of Western Union Financial Services, Inc. in Englewood, CO. and stole 15,706 credit card numbers. The FBI agents that arrested them had posed as businessmen who wanted them to come to the U.S. and work as consultants. Since Invanof had previously hacked into another firm in Washington, he evidently believed that the offer from the FBI agents was merely in recognition of his skills. The FBI did not explain how the duo was tied into the hacking at Western Union Financial Services.