$50,000 Stolen: a Few Cents at a Time

"California Hacker Caught Taking $50K, Penny by Penny"
Inside Tech (May 29, 2008)

" 'Office-Space style crime makes it to the real world with less-than-perfect results. Maybe the recently charged hacker just needed someone to take a certain employee’s stapler.' -

"In the world of hacking and phishing, there are your slightly unusual attacks, significant but not super eye-catching – there are hackers involved in corporate espionage, zealous nationalists targeting news sites, and rings of malicious Canadian phishers who aren’t content to just go ice fishing. However, every once in a while a story about a hacker really stands out from the rest.

"The story of Michael Largent’s hacking victories and eventual downfall is one of those sort of stories...."

He stole $50,000 - a penny here, a penny there. Then, he got caught.

Opening about 58,000 of those accounts, where the service deposits a few cents in you bank account, may be what gave him away.

I deplore theft, but I give him credit for thinking of using this scheme - but don't, fr thinking he could get away with it in the long run.