UKPA reports:
A young computer hacker who carried out a sophisticated and lucrative online fraud operation to feed his gambling habit has been jailed.
Alistair Peckover, 21, bought a Porsche, expensive watches and more than £30,000 worth of gold bullion using the proceeds from his complex scam. Detectives said he systematically defrauded legitimate online businesses and unsuspecting members of the public with his self-taught computer skills.
Peckover, of London Road, Hailsham, East Sussex, was jailed for 20 months at Southend Crown Court in Essex after admitting two counts of fraud. A further 50 offences were taken into consideration, Sussex Police said.
Using sophisticated computer programmes, some of which he wrote himself, “obsessive loner” Peckover remotely viewed files of other computer users without their knowledge or consent. Systems by Google and BT were misused by Peckover who breached security barriers to target online betting sites and individual email accounts.
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