A Russian man has pleaded guilty to charges that he was one of the leaders of a ring that traded stolen credit cards, identities and hacking tools. A few days ago, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that Sergey Medvedev, who is also known by the aliases “Stells”, “segmed” and “serjbear”, was one of the top members of the Infraud Organization. It is a large fraud ring that focuses on credit cards.
What is “Carding”?
The term “Carding” is used to describe a fraud scheme related to credit cards, including the selling and trading of credit card numbers, the use of stolen information to purchase gift cards or other products, and money laundering.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the Infraud Organization was not only involved in credit card fraud, but also bought and sold personally identifiable information (PII), bank records, malware , and other “contraband” products. The Organization was started in 2010 by Svyatoslav Bondarenko, also known as “Obnon,” “Rector,” or “Helkern.” The Infraud Organization operated under the slogan “In Fraud We Trust” and directed potential customers to sales sites owned by the organization’s members, which numbered over 10,000 by 2017 when Infraud was dismantled by law enforcement. To maintain its primary destination for card products and services, Infraud screened for offers of stolen data and also provided service using cryptocurrencies. The organization's coordinators supervised specific areas of the card circuit, depending on the area in which each of them specialized, while the salespeople sold products. The Infraud Organization also divided members into standard and VIP accounts.
The DoJ estimates that the Infraud Organization represents over $568 million in actual losses, while projected losses are $2.2 billion. Individuals, financial institutions, and vendors have been affected by the cybercriminal’s illegal business practices.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge James Mahan in the District of Nevada, the 33-year-old Russian pleaded guilty to his role in the Infraud Organization under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act . Another 36 people are charged with their involvement in the Organization, and arrests have been made in the U.S., Australia, the U.K., France, Italy, Serbia and Kosovo.
