Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and the other celebrities and
officials whose financial information ended up online are reportedly
victims of a new prankster trend called "doxxing."
Unlike "swatting,"
the Hollywood trend by which pranksters place 911 calls to alert
authorities about fake home invasions in celebrities' homes, "doxxing" is a cyber crime.
More specifically, it's the process of obtaining or deducing
information about a person based on a limited set of initial
information, the FBI told Yahoo.
Since the story broke yesterday, the list of high profile victims has grown to include Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, and Britney Spears, according to ABCNews. The Department of Justice told ABC they are investigating the site and its content.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is also among the dozen "doxxed," and the
LAPD issued the following statement last night (Mar. 11): "LAPD
detectives are investigating the recent disclosure of Chief Beck's
personal information. Apparently this is not necessarily a hacking
incident. It is called 'doxxing.' This has happened to the Chief on two
other occasions prior to this in a similar nature post Occupy LA. We are
not at liberty to discuss the others mentioned in the web post. There
will be no further comments or press conference on this matter."
EARLIER:
TMZ exclusively reports that as many as 12 celebrities and political figures have been hacked and their financial information has ended up on an undisclosed website. Among these prominent figures are are Jay-Z and Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson and Ashton Kutcher.
Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were also victims of the hacker, but
the information gathered on the two of them is reportedly incomplete.
Even LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was hacked.
The information, which was posted publicly but we are now unable to
trace, includes social security numbers, mortgage amounts, credit card
info, car loans and banking information.
According to TMZ, the LAPD is investigating and the FBI is looking into it as well.
Exactly one year ago, Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla. pleaded guilty to hacking into the email accounts
of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry. The authorities
dubbed the investigation and his subsequent arrest "Operation
Hackerazzi."
Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis, and Scarlett Johansson fell victim to Chaney's hacking, and some very compromising photos even ended up online.
Johansson later explained that her leaked nude shots were meant for her then husband, Ryan Reynolds. Justin Timberlake also got dragged into it when the photos off of Kunis' phones were linked to him, including a compromising crotch shot. Timberlake denied having anything to do with the photos or being the one photographed.
Once again, it seems as though there's no job too big for a persistent hacker.
Requests for comment made to the reps of Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Paris
Hilton, Mel Gibson, and Ashton Kutcher were not immediately answered.
Beyonce's publicist declined to comment.
The LAPD told HuffPost Celebrity that they are currently looking into the matter.
