Edward Pearson, a UK-based 23-year-old from York, had grand plans to make his fortune by stealing from individuals and companies through hacking and information-stealing malware.
Between January 1 2010 and August 30 2011, he used of malicious computer programs to get his hands on - wait for it - eight MILLION personal identities.
He used Trojans such as Zeus and SpyEye, to hunt down personal details on the internet, says the Daily Mail.
These details include stolen Paypal accounts, 2,701 bank cards, not to mention "enough dates of birth, postcodes and names to fill 67,500 double-sided A4 pages," reports York newspaper The Press.
"One of his programs scanned through 200,000 accounts registered to online payment service PayPal - identifying names, passwords and current balances." according to the Daily Mail.
Luckily, Pearson got caught after only making a £2,400 ($3,800 USD). The authorities estimate he could have walked away with as much as £800,000 ($1.3M USD).
Read more: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/04/03/hacker-jailed-for-stealing-millions-of-banking-and-paypal-identities/
