What just happened? Not all Australian police are occupying themselves with breaking into the homes of cryptocurrency miners. The country's Federal Police (AFP), in cooperation with the FBI, recently discovered that a 21-year-old Australian man had been selling stolen AU and US Netflix, Spotify, and Hulu accounts for around two years.
During that period of time, the man did quite well for himself, earning around $300,000 AUD. For reference, that amounts to $212,500 USD as of writing.
The Sydney-based man allegedly sold the stolen accounts through an "account generator" website called WickedGen.com. WickedGen reportedly claimed to have "120,000 users" and "almost one million" sets of account details in its prime.
The Sydney-based man allegedly sold the stolen accounts through an "account generator" website called WickedGen.com.
After executing a search of the individual's home, the AFP seized his cryptocurrencies as well as various "electronic materials," though it's unclear what the latter refers to.
If the individual accused of these crimes is proven guilty, he could be spending the next several decades in prison - Australian law lays out some pretty nasty penalties for "dealing in proceeds of crime" and obtaining "unauthorized access" to private internet user data.