Men behind ‘Photof*cket’ app slammed with federal charges

Men behind ‘Photof*cket’ app slammed with federal charges

The men were charged with hacking into Photobucket and selling users' photos and videos illegally with those who paid a fee.

Two men have been arrested for allegedly hacking into pic-hosting website Photobucket and then providing those pictures to users through an app called “Photof*cket.”

Brandon Bourret, 39, of Colorado and Athanasios Andrianakis, 26, of California, were arrested on charges of committing computer fraud and abuse, access device fraud, ID fraud, and wire fraud. The Department of Justice said in a statement that they were arrested and taken in for questioning, according to a Register report.

Bourret and Andrianakis are accused of selling an app called “Photofucket” that allowed people to go through Photobucket users’ private images and videos. The DoJ claimed that they used the Photofucket app to obtain guest passwords to password-protected albums, and then they transferred those passwords to those who paid the Photofucket fee.

Both Bourret and Andrianakis face one count of conspiracy and one count of computer fraud, aid and abet, and face a maximum sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. They are also accused of access device fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years, and also a fine of $250,000.

Colorado District Attorney John Walsh slammed the two individuals and promised that anyone else who breaches corporate servers and gets rich by victimizing people will face similar results. He added that his office is “keenly focused” on prosecuting individuals who commit such acts and get wealthy off harming internet users.

Photobucket is an image and video hosting website that allows users to preserve and share their images with others. The site hosts more than 10 billion images and has 100 million registered members, with four million images and videos uploaded each day. The company is headquartered in Denver and was founded in 2003.

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