(Washington, D.C.) – The United States Secret Service today made public an ongoing undercover operation called Operation Rolling Stone, which has targeted online fraud and
identity theft through criminal web forums since 2005. The Secret Service arrested seven suspects today, bringing the total number of arrests to 21 in the last three months.
“Cyber crime has evolved significantly over the last two years, from dumpster diving and credit card skimming to full-fledged online bazaars full of stolen personal and financial
information,” said Assistant Director Brian Nagel of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Investigations. “We continue to adapt our investigative techniques to progressively
combat emerging threats to our nation’s financial infrastructure.”
While the operation is ongoing and future arrests are planned, this initial phase of Operation Rolling Stone involves suspects nationwide as well as in the United Kingdom.
Today’s arrests are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Nashville and Buffalo and by the District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Most of the charges
involve the utilization of the Internet for the purposes of illegally obtaining personal information to commit credit card fraud. Some of the arrests stemming from Operation
Rolling Stone have been linked to a recent rash of debit card and customer PIN compromises nationwide.
Operation Rolling Stone is one of a number of Secret Service cyber initiatives to combat financial fraud and identity theft. The initiative is designed to disrupt activity on criminal
web forums, where the suspects openly engage in the sale of stolen and compromised credit card information, false identity documents, and malicious software that enables
criminals to obtain access to victims’ computers.
The Secret Service has taken a lead role in the emerging area of cyber crime and, through a nationwide network of 15 Electronic Crimes Task Forces and nine Electronic Crimes Working Groups, has established partnerships in both the law enforcement and business communities to address such issues as protection of critical infrastructure, internet intrusions and associated fraud.