'Kingpin' hacker arrested

2003-05-22 08:16

Bangkok - A Ukrainian man alleged to be one of the world's leading computer fraudsters has been arrested in Thailand, Thai and US officials said on Thursday.

Maksym Vysochansky, 25, who was arrested on Tuesday on a United States warrant in Bangkok, is thought to have been involved in computer crime worth up to one billion dollars, according to US officials.

"This guy was on the US Secret Service's 10 most wanted list. He's definitely a big shot," a US embassy spokesperson said, describing Vysochansky as a "kingpin" of international computer crime.

The Ukrainian, who is believed to have used a number of aliases, is accused of counterfeiting software by leading companies such as Adobe and Microsoft and selling it via illicit websites, he said.

He is also thought to have built a "back door" into the software allowing him to hack into his purchasers' financial information and plunder credit cards.

The activities go back at least to December 2000, the US embassy spokesperson added.

"It was a very complicated and sophisticated fraudulent scheme," he said.

Vysochansky, from Ternopol in western Ukraine, is believed to have arrived in Thailand for a holiday on May 7.

He will face US extradition proceedings relating to copyright violations, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money-laundering.

- AFX