Hacker, 14, Accused of Credit Theft

A 14-year-old Fresno boy used his home computer to break into a national credit agency’s files and steal personal credit card numbers, which he then used to charge thousands of dollars of merchandise and make false applications for additional cards, authorities charged Tuesday.

Fresno Police Sgt. Richard Desmond said the high school freshman, whose name was not released, purchased at least $11,000 in mail-order merchandise and had the goods shipped to a rented storeroom.

He said the teen-ager also shared his findings with other computer buffs via computer “bulletin boards.”

“Here’s a 14-year-old boy with a $200 computer in his bedroom . . . and now he has shared his data with countless other hackers all over the nation,” said Fresno Detective Frank Clark, who investigated the case. “The potential (for abuse of the information) is incredible.”

The boy was arrested at his home last week and later released to his parents. His computer was confiscated and he faces felony charges that amount to theft through the fraudulent use of a computer. If convicted, he faces up to three years in state custody and a $10,000 fine.

Authorities say the boy obtained secret “access codes” to the files of the credit-checking company TRW from a computerized bulletin board and used them to pose as a company or employer seeking a credit history on an individual whose name he picked randomly from the telephone book.

From the histories he obtained credit card numbers and then purchased goods and applied for more cards under the cardholder’s name. A $3,000 stereo system, three television sets and computer software were among the goods he ordered.

Police began investigating when TRW noticed an unusual number of credit check requests coming from a single source, later found to be the youth’s home telephone number.