ÎZilterioâ wreaks havoc with banks, Web sites
ãMr. Zilterioä is hardly shy about the havoc he wreaks at his computer. ãBlackmailing is just a hobby for us, not a business. We like to be famous,ä he says in an e-mail interview with MSNBC.com. For over a year, Zilterio has been hacking into online companies and financial institutions, stealing data, then demanding extortion payments. Nine firms have paid him $150,000 ãquiet money,ä he claims. While the money may in fact be a fantasy ÷ thereâs no proof anyone has paid ÷ the crimes are quite real, and heâs being sought by the FBI for extortion.
The E-Mails always look the same, as if cut-and-pasted by someone on an assembly line: ãI hate to inform you that your account has been hacked.ä Tens of thousands of Internet users have received a note beginning like that from Zilterio, whose real identity is a mystery. Itâs followed by personal details, such as name, address, e-mail address, and credit card numbers ÷ and finally, the name of the Web site where the data was taken.
Ê
Ê Ê ÊãThis site has a very weak security protection system and the database with credit cards and other personal information is not protected at all,ä Zilterioâs e-mails continue, in a transparent attempt to shift the blame for his crime. Itâs their fault, because the company rejected his offer of ãhelp,ä the e-mails say. ãTop management ... doesnât care about their customers ÷ you. They care only about their money.ä
Ê Ê Ê ÊOf course, Zilterio cares about the money too. In four high-profile extortion attempts which have been made public since October, heâs demanded close to $100,000. None of the victims paid.
Ê Ê Ê ÊZilterio sent an unnerving e-mail to many of the 350,000 customers at Webcertificate.com last fall. Just a month ago, people who shopped at electronics retailer TheNerds.net got their share of Zilterio spam. Heâs still threatening to release data taken from LinkLine, a small Internet service provider. And in April, Zilterio sent e-mails to reporters announcing he had stolen data from Fahnestock & Co. a stock brokerage. [MS NBC]
17:56
#
G!
