Suspect Pleads Guilty to Phishing AOL Subscribers

HARTFORD, Conn. – A man who schemed to steal subscriber information from America Online members, then used the information to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank and credit union accounts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and identity theft charges last week. Twenty-three-year-old Kevin Dolan admitted he and his accomplices stole credit card, bank and credit union account, and Social Security numbers, as well as other personal information, through an elaborate spamming and phishing scheme that targeted AOL members. The suspects used AOL accounts to send phony online greeting cards purporting to be from Hallmark.com that surreptitiously downloaded a software Trojan onto the victim’s account when they opened it. The Trojan would prevent legitimate AOL subscribers from logging on to AOL without first entering their name, credit card number, bank or credit union account number and Social Security number. Dolan and his accomplices used the information to order products online and to produce phony debit cards, which were used at ATMs and local retailers.