Eleven charged over theft of 40 million credit card numbers
Updated
Eleven people from five countries have charged over one of the world's biggest computer hacking crimes, where more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen.
Our Washington correspondent, Kim Landers, reports it's alleged the hackers broke into the wireless computer networks of nine major American retail stores, stealing the numbers from credit and debit cards.
The US attorney general, Michael Mukasey, says the data was then stored on computer servers in the US and Eastern Europe.
"We've charged a total of 11 people including residents of at least five different countries, as far as we know this is the single largest and most complex identity theft case that's ever been charged in this country," he said.
The scheme was allegedly spearheaded by a man in Miami who's now facing life in jail if convicted of all the charges.
