Hackers got Bill Gates' credit card info

By Reuters UPDATED March 27, 2000 3:57 AM PT

LONDON, -- A teenager arrested in Wales for allegedly hacking into e-commerce Web sites had obtained the credit card details of Bill Gates, head of Microsoft Corp. and the world's richest man, newspapers said on Sunday.

Raphael Gray, 18, was arrested on Saturday for Internet fraud after a joint operation between the FBI and Welsh Police.

The FBI said on Saturday that losses connected to the activities of Gray and another unnamed 18-year-old could exceed $3 million.

The 'Saint of E-commerce' But Gray, the self-styled "Saint of E-commerce," said: "I just wanted to prove how insecure these sites are. I have done the honest thing, but I have been ignored."

Gray and his accomplice e-mailed credit card details, including those of Gates, to NBCi, a subsidiary of the NBC broadcasting group, the paper said.

The 18-year-olds used the screen name "Curador" -- Welsh for custodian -- and allegedly hacked into nine e-commerce Web sites around the world, stealing credit card information related to more than 26,000 accounts from Web sites in the United States, Canada, Thailand, Japan and Britain.

Joint international effort
The arrests stemmed from an FBI investigation conducted with the Welsh police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Internet security consultants, the FBI said, adding that the international banking and credit card industry also provided substantial cooperation.

The FBI was still investigating a wave of cyber-attacks last month that disrupted some of the Internet's most popular sites.

The FBI's own Web site was attacked on March 14, the same day the agency celebrated the 50th anniversary of its "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list, which is publicized on the site, FBI officials said.

Gray and the other man were questioned and have been released on bail.

HACKERS HAD GATES' CREDIT CARD DATA

By John Borland - Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 24, 2000, 12:25 p.m. PT - Copyright © CNET

An 18-year-old Welshman was arrested on Friday for Internet fraud after a lengthy investigation by the FBI, the Welsh police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and various Internet security experts. The teen, Raphael Gray, and his accomplice, another unnamed 18-year-old boy, used allegedly broke into nine different e-commerce Web sites and stole credit card information about 26,000 accounts in the U.S., Canada, Thailand, Japan, and Britain. The FBI says that the activities of "Curador"--the screen alias that the two boys used--could cost as much as $3 million in losses. The FBI also says that the boys obtained the credit card information of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, and emailed the information, along with the credit card information relating to the other 26,000 accounts, to NBC subsidiary NBCi. The two boys have been questioned by police and released on bail.
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