Hacker faces 105 years inside after FBI 'sexploitation' arrest
Over 350 women blackmailed into baring all
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The FBI has announced the arrest of a 27-year-old man over charges that he hacked into the data of over 350 female victims and blackmailed them into providing him with nude photographs and video calls.
Karen "Gary" Kazaryan, 27, was arrested in Glendale, California on Tuesday after being indicted on 15 counts of computer intrusion and 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, and faces a possible 105 years in the Big House if convicted. Police found over 3,000 images of women he is claimed to have targeted on his computer.
According to the FBI – which dubbed the case one of "sextortion" – between 2009 and 2010, Kazaryan hacked into women's computers and email accounts in search for images of the victim unclothed, as well as any passwords and details on their female friends. He would then contact these friends, pretending to be the victim, and persuade them to disrobe so he could take pictures of them.
The indictment also states that Kazaryan would use these pictures to blackmail some of his victims into providing more naked photographs or Skype video calls. It is claimed that in some cases he posted nude photographs on Facebook as punishment, after some women refused his demands.
Police say over 350 women have been traced from Kazaryan's records so far, but others are still unidentified. Anyone thought to have been affected by this should contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at +1 (310) 477-6565.
Sadly, these cases are becoming more and more common, and malware writers are increasingly catching on. Pictures have been stolen via peer-to-peer, social networking, and custom malware, and then used to extort more from the victims, who often keep quiet for fear of embarrassment.
For those with such saucy snaps, the solution is straightforward – air-gap them on offline storage like an SD card or portable hard drive whenever possible, and contact the police if you are targeted. Any embarrassment from an investigation could be as naught compared to the satisfaction of seeing a scumbag behind bars. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Could be worse
I think I speak for everyone when I say "SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU DULL BASTARD".
I don't post much on here but even I am getting irritated by reading comments and constantly seeing you railroading ANY story into an anti-MS 'witty' comment. You're not even a very good troll as you lack either mad wind-up skills or unhinged capitalisation, it's just repetitive bollocks. I genuinely wonder what happened to you that left you so angry at MS that you spend your days telling the world what a prize cock you are?
PS I've got a Surface, it's quite good for a very lightweight mobile MS Office thing with decent battery, not perfect but does what I need when I can't be arsed carting a laptop around.
Re: Could be worse
I guess none of you morons see the "Joke Alert" icon?
Yes, we saw it. It was therefore incumbent on him to follow up with an actual joke. That he tried to shoehorn yet another MS screed into an article on blackmail shows more than just insensitivity, it's perilously close to thinking it's the 1950s and rape jokes are funny.
That you were dumb enough to write one of the more idiotic responses in defense of eadon says it all about you.
Re: Could be worse
"You're not even a very good troll as you lack either mad wind-up skills or unhinged capitalisation, it's just repetitive bollocks."
I dunno, he seems to be doing a pretty good job trolling you. :)
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