Supplier of Cracked Hulu, Spotify, Netflix Accounts Arrested
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) in conjunction with The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a Sydney man for allegedly selling thousands of personal accounts for online services.
The AFP made it known in a press release that the investigation leading to the arrest had begun when the FBI notified them of an account generator website named WickedGen.com.
While WickedGen operated for nearly 2 years, it was responsible for selling account information for online subscription services including Hulu, Netflix, and Spotify. The malefactor was arrested this week and had his residence raided.
The AFP noted that he had gotten the account information through credential stuffing – a technique that makes use of previously leaked or stolen usernames, email addresses and passwords sold or re-used for unauthorized access to the streaming services.
These accounts belonged to users in Australia, the U.S and other parts of the world.
Acting Commander for AFP Cyber Crime, Chris Goldsmind disclosed that the relationship with the FBI was integral to the investigation and eventual arrest.
He stated that partnerships amongst international security agencies were critical to swift responses to the ever-evolving and increasingly global crime types. He noted that the AFP and FBI were working with affected companies, and expressed appreciation for their support throughout the investigation.
Along with his arrest, various amounts of cryptocurrencies and other electronic materials were seized from his residence.
According to the report, before WickedGen foreclosure it had advertised that had sold almost a million set of account details and boosted over 120,000 users. It was also alleged the purveyor had made an estimated $300,000 AUD for selling the accounts through WickedGen and other similar websites identified at the point of his arrest.
The Sydney man (name withdrawn) will appear before the Sydney Central Local Court, charged with unauthorized access or modification to restricted data, false or misleading information, dealing in proceeds of crime and identification information.
In recent times, credential stuffing crimes have been on the rise due to the increasing credential dumps from data breaches on the web.
