text: For hackers in search of information like credit card numbers and software to spy on computers, the site called Carder Profit appeared to be a veritable eBay for thieves. 
   
   Instead, it was a creation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
   
   On Tuesday, after a two-year undercover operation, authorities in 13 countries arrested two dozen people who are accused of fraud involving computer crime. 
   
   Federal officials said Operation Card Shop, as the sting is being called, was unusually broad and represented a significant step in combating credit card fraud, which has grown notably more sophisticated recently. 
   
   “These guys represent the complete ecosystem of Internet fraud,” said one senior law enforcement official who requested anonymity because of the confidentiality of the investigation. “We drew them out of the shadows with the Web site as bait.” 
   
   Hackers have become increasingly successful recently in obtaining credit card information and other personal data, sharing it on secure Web sites, often on overseas servers. Last year, hackers in Eastern Europe obtained the names, account numbers, e-mail addresses and transaction histories of more than 200,000 Citibank customers. 
   
   The online forum, one law enforcement official said, was “like a restricted eBay,” open only to people who had a reputation and who had been vouched for by someone on the site. Besides the financial data, hacking tips, malware, spyware and access to stolen goods, like iPads and iPhones, were also possible on the site, the official said. 
   
   Federal officials maintained that the sting operation prevented potential losses of more than $200 million. Credit card providers were notified of more than 400,000 compromised credit and debit cards, the officials said. 
   
   Many of the 11 individuals arrested in the United States offered specialized skills and products on the sting site. One, who used the screen name xVisceral, offered remote access tools known as RATS that would spy on computers and Web cameras; the programs sold for $50 a copy. 
   
   Another, Mir Islam, known as JoshTheGod, sold stolen credit card information and had data on 50,000 credit card accounts, according to the United States attorney for the Southern District. He was arrested after buying cards from an undercover agent and trying to use one at an A.T.M. on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. 
   
   Mr. Islam is accused of helping to operate additional forums, UGNazi.com and Carders.org, both of which were seized by the F.B.I. A lawyer for Mr. Islam declined to comment. 
   
   Other people arrested offered to ship stolen merchandise and arrange drop services so items like sunglasses, air purifiers and synthetic marijuana could be picked up. 
   
   Two individuals were arrested in New York, nine elsewhere in the United States and 13 in a dozen other countries, according to an F.B.I. spokeswoman. 
   
   In addition to arresting purveyors of stolen credit card information, authorities also aimed to trap people who created fake credit cards. The information included credit card numbers, addresses, Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names and details of bank accounts. 
   
   Some people who bought software and other items on the sting site purchased products from retailers like Apple and Walmart. 
   
   “The coordinated law enforcement actions taken by an unprecedented number of countries around the world today demonstrate that hackers and fraudsters cannot count on being able to prowl the Internet in anonymity and with impunity, even across national boundaries,” said Preet Bharara, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. 
   
   In addition to luring hackers onto the site, federal authorities also monitored the discussion threads that sprang up, as specialized hackers sold their wares. The site was created in June 2010 and shut last month. 
   
   “From New York to Norway and Japan to Australia, Operation Card Shop targeted sophisticated, highly organized cybercriminals involved in buying and selling stolen identities, exploited credit cards, counterfeit documents and sophisticated hacking tools,” Janice K. Fedarcyk, assistant director for the F.B.I., said in a statement. 
   
   She said the arrests would cause “significant disruption to the underground economy.” 
   
   The overall number of arrests had been reported earlier as 26. 
   
   Credit card fraud has exploded in recent years, with increasingly sophisticated hackers teaming up with criminal organizations overseas. In the case of Operation Card Shop, the arrests took place in nations like Britain, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Norway and Germany. Search warrants and interviews were obtained in Australia, Canada, Macedonia and Denmark. 
   
   “They didn’t just take down one kid and a Web site,” said Dave Marcus, director of advanced research and threat intelligence at McAfee, a major provider of computer security software. “They took down a very organized group of people.” 
   
   While the international reach of the operation was notable, the number of stolen cards pales in comparison with some earlier breaches. This year, Global Payments, an Atlanta-based transaction processor, reported a breach affecting 1.5 million credit cards. And in 2008, the underground market for the data was flooded with more than 360 million stolen personal records, mainly credit and debit files. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officials on Tuesday said 24 suspected hackers had been arrested in a sting operation spanning four continents that targeted online financial fraud of stolen credit card and bank information. 
   
   In a two-year investigation, FBI agents posed as hackers on Internet forums, watching as other hackers swapped methods for breaching data security walls and creating fake credit cards that would work for Internet and in-person purchases. 
   
   The probe prevented $205 million in possible losses on over 411,000 compromised consumer credit and debit cards, U.S. authorities in New York said. 
   
   Eleven people were arrested in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said. The thirteen others were arrested in countries from Britain to Japan, the authorities said. Officials in Australia also conducted searches. 
   
   "Clever computer criminals operating behind the supposed veil of the Internet are still subject to the long arm of the law," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. 
   
   During the operation, the FBI said, it not only monitored the hackers' activities but also contacted "multiple" people and institutions hit by the hackers and showed them how to repair their security breaches and protect themselves in the future. 
   
   No credit card companies or banks were named in Tuesday's court documents. 
   
   The 24 people arrested were all men aged 18 to 25. Some face up to 40 years or more in prison if convicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges and access device fraud charges. 
   
   The FBI operation centered around a "carding forum" that it had secretly created in June 2010, and was in charge of running unbeknownst to its participants, authorities said. 
   
   The forum, called "Carder Profit," was essentially an online market for registered users to exchange stolen account numbers. It was shut down in May. 
   
   Two people were arrested in the New York area and were later released on bail after appearing in Manhattan federal court. 
   
   One of the men, Mir Islam, known online as "JoshTheGod," was charged with trafficking in 50,000 stolen credit card numbers. Authorities said Islam had admitted to helping emerging hacker outfit UgNazi, which said it had launched a cyber attack against the microblogging platform Twitter last week. 
   
   Islam, 18, who lives in the New York borough of the Bronx, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis in flip-flop sandals and jeans. His parents, who are from Pakistan, watched the proceeding from a back bench. Islam was released on a $50,000 bond. 
   
   Fellow Bronx resident Joshua Hicks, 19, also known as "OxideDox," was charged with one count of access device fraud. Wearing red basketball shorts, Hicks was released on a $20,000 bond after a brief hearing before the same judge. 
   
   Meanwhile on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Wyndham Worldwide Corp and three subsidiaries, alleging that the hotel operator failed to keep customer data secure. 
   
   That failure resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of consumers payment card numbers, which were sent to an Internet address registered in Russia and $10.6 million in fraudulent charges, according to the complaint. 
   
   The cases are U.S. v Joshua Hicks and U.S. v. Mir Islam, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Nos 12-1639 and 12-1701 
   
   (Reporting By Basil Katz; Editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)
target: – Federal agents have been watching websites where hackers illegally distribute credit card data—and their work has paid off. Today, they arrested 11 people in the US and 13 overseas, reports Reuters. Under the two-year sting, agents set up a fake online forum of their own where people could trade stolen account numbers. The arrest foiled about $200 million in bogus purchases involving more than 400,000 compromised cards, authorities say. All of the suspects are males between the ages of 18 to 25, which might have been apparent by screen names like “JoshTheGod" and “IwearaMAGNUM.” Some of those charged face 40 years in prison if convicted. Their arrests will cause a "significant disruption to the underground economy," an FBI spokeswoman tells the New York Times.