In what US prosecutors are calling the world's largest ID theft round up, more than 111 restaurant workers and bank insiders have been arrested.

More than 111 bank tellers, retail workers, waiters and alleged criminals were charged with running a credit-card-stealing organisation that stole more than £13 million in less than 18 months. The Queens County District Attorney's office told Tech World
that it was the largest and most most sophisticated identity theft/credit card fraud cases that Inspector Knacker of the Queens Yard has had to investigate.

The credit card numbers came from all over the US. Restaurant employees or retail cashiers were paid to nick credit card data from customers. It took Inspector Knacker two years to finger five groups of criminals in “Operation Swiper." The crime ring covered everything required to nick credit card numbers and convert that data into cash. Employed by the ring were ID thieves, skimmers, card makers, fences and shopping crews: groups that would buy thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in stores throughout the US.

Eighty-six of the defendants are behind bars and coppers are looking for the remaining 25. Earlier last week week, coppers seized a box truck full of electronics, computers, shoes and watches, skimmers, card readers, embossers and blank credit cards and fake ID. One raid included nicking $850,000 worth of computer equipment from a Citigroup building in Long Island City. In that case they were added by a Citi employee, Steven Oluwo, and a security guard under contract to Citigroup, Angel Quinones.