There is a Bulgarian citizen among the 24 individuals arrested by the FBI in a high-profile illegal credit card information trafficking case, according to international media.

The sting, dubbed Operation Card Shop, targeted people suspected of stealing credit card and banking information and exchanging it through an online forum set up by the FBI in summer 2010.

The coordinated crackdown on cyber crime followed a two-year undercover investigation by the FBI spanning four continents. Twelve arrests were made in the United States, and six in Britain. The other arrests were made in Bosnia, Norway, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Macedonia conducted interviews, executed search warrants, or took other coordinated action in connection with the takedown.

"As the cyber threat grows more international, the response must be increasingly global and forceful. The coordinated law enforcement actions taken by an unprecedented number of countries around the world today demonstrate that hackers and fraudsters cannot count on being able to prowl the Internet in anonymity and with impunity, even across national boundaries," Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara has commented.

Some of those detained face 40 years in prison if convicted. US authorities say the operation  has prevented estimated potential economic losses of more than USD 205 M.

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