File-Sharing Scammers Caught

Two men from San Diego have been accused of stealing $20,000 after they grabbed confidential data from p2p users who inadvertently disclosed their information through file sharing programs, CourtHouseNews reports.

The two men are 32-year-old Jeffrey Steven Girandola, and 25-year-old Kajohn Phommavong, and charges against them include conspiracy, computer fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Both are now facing 20 years in prison and harsh fines that could reach millions of dollars.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office they installed p2p file sharing software on computers they controlled and then searched for log-ins and passwords accidently shared on p2p networks.

The cyber-thieves conned five people through the Pentagon's "SFAS MyPay" payroll system. While most people who use p2p file sharing program download them for free some programs are altered to facilitate data exposure and consequently data theft, prosecutors pointed out.

The Informed P2P User Act which has just been approved by the U.S House was based on exactly this kind of scams, its purpose as stated by Mary Mack Bono (R-CA) being to prevent file sharers from inadvertently exposing their data. However, the legislation would also affect software developers which is why many are very reticent to it.