SmallWorldPodcast interviewed El Mariachi, a man who commits online fraud and identity theft. The interview reveals details about another scammer, Dillinger, who was involved with the ATM hacks of the ill-fabled “Russian Connection” scandal.

Allegedly, after the previous podcast broke out, Dillinger caught a lot of flack from his fellow thieves, as well as from blogs and sites like this. He also lapsed into drug abuse, principally meth. Paranoia overtook Dillinger. He started hallucinating, thinking that the neighbors were bugging his house. He called the cops to stop the imagined harassment. When the police arrived, they found drugs all around, as well as all his debit card smithing equipment. Now he’s in jail on $800,000 bail as law enforcement is trying to make each debit card count as a separate charge.

El Mariachi also talks about the need to proactively secure your identity. He advises against posting your identity online, visiting porn or “illicit” sites, and using separate banking mechanisms for your offline vs. online transactions.

“If you’re not willing to protect yourself from people like me, you will get screwed, ” says El Mariachi. “It’s not a question of if, it’s when.”

“Shadow Crew! Crime and Punishment” [Small World Podcast]

Previously:
• John Dillinger Was a Bank Robber Who Walked Through Walls
• Debit Card Hacker Interviewed

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