California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Hackers Accused of Credit Card Fraud

Police said they have cracked a network of young computer hackers who were able to make millions of dollars in fraudulent credit card purchases and break into confidential credit-rating files. As many as 1,000 hackers between the ages of 14 and 25 nationwide have shared such information for at least four years, said Detective Dennis Sadler. Sadler said officers stumbled upon the network while investigating a local case of credit card fraud. Police say the hackers can gain access to the computers of national credit card agencies and credit reporting agencies through major computer networks such as Telenet, Signet and Sprintnet. The credit card fraud could total millions of dollars.