Rapper Busted for Credit Card Fraud–Here’s How to Avoid Becoming a Victim

Few have heard about rapper Guerilla Black's music, but many will know his name after the stunt that he pulled recently which will no doubt land him in the slammer.

According to investigators, Charles Tony Williamson (yep, that's Guerilla's real name) bought credit card details that the hackers uncovered from unsuspecting victims in the Seattle area. Here's the kicker: Black allegedly bought 27,257 stolen credit card numbers from the hackers.

He was nabbed after using about 137 of these, making purchases that amounted to over $150,000. Black must've assumed that the massiveness of the interwebs would protect him from getting busted, but really, how dumb could he be to think that he could actually get away with this?

Black was charged with a long list of crimes that include accessing a protected computer without authorization to further fraud, access device fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit access device fraud and to commit bank fraud.

The hackers who got him the credit card and bank details, David Benjamin Schrooten and Christopher Schroebel, have also been arrested and subsequently indicted.

So how do you keep your info secure? Here are some tips on how you can prevent your banking details from getting filched by unscrupulous hackers.

Secure your connection. If you use your credit card to shop or do online banking regularly, make sure you're doing so over a secure connection. Check the URL bar of your browser. Secure connections are over "https://" and a padlock icon usually appears beside the web address.

Be aware. Call your bank immediately when you notice something's amiss with your credit usage or account balance. If you notice any other suspicious activity on any of your online accounts, update your passwords or PINs and alert your bank.

Do it at home. Avoid shopping or banking online when you're away from home. Especially avoid doing it over unsecured WiFi connections in public places, like coffee shops or malls. Some hackers actually lurk in these areas, just waiting for a window of opportunity to steal your information.