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British hackers nabbed
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March 24, 2000: 3:48 p.m. ET
FBI probe of credit-card theft leads to Wales; two teens arrested
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Two unidentified 18-year-old men from Wales are in custody after an FBI probe of millions of dollars in credit card theft through the hacking of e-commerce sites led investigators to the United Kingdom.
The two men allegedly used the screen name "Curador" to intrude into nine e-commerce Web sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, and Japan.
The FBI said the theft involved credit card information from more than 26,000 accounts. The stolen credit card information was disclosed on the Internet. Losses could exceed $3 million, authorities said.
The FBI said no decision has been made on what charges may be filed in the United States, or when they might be filed.
Authorities did not immediately identify the Web sites hit, but said the credit card theft operation is unrelated to the much-publicized "denial of service" attacks against several popular Web sites.
The arrests were made Thursday by the Dyfed-Powys Police Service in Wales, where the two were charged with violating a 1990 U.K. computer law. Local law prohibits disclosure of the names of the men in custody.
The FBI said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Internet security consultants, and the banking and credit card industries assisted in the investigation. 
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