Teenage duo sentenced over credit card Ghostmarket

Two UK teenagers received sentences for repeated hack attacks that stole credit card data and took one online webhost offline.

Zachary Woodham, 19, and Louis Tobenhouse, 18, pleaded guilty to the online offenses in late December, members of the Metropolitan Police Service's Police Central e-Crime Unit said on Monday. Using the hacker alias “Colonel Root,” Woodham repeatedly attacked webhosting company Punkyhosting over several weeks and then sent emails that gloated about his actions.

Police said they eventually identified Woodham as an active participant in Ghostmarket, an online marketplace for stolen wares that also offered tutorials on online scams. Police searching the teens' computers found data for thousands of compromised payment cards and evidence that they targeted online casinos, betting companies and other online firms. Woodham also used some of the stolen cards to pay for access to premium chat lines that he owned.