NEW YORK - FBI officials said Monday they busted an identity-theft ring that stole the credit files of at least 30,000 people, resulting in losses that total so far $2.7 million. FBI investigators said the scam helped New York street criminals take out loans in the names of the victims, buy merchandise, order credit cards and take money out of bank accounts around the county, using stolen passwords and a laptop computer.

“With a few keystrokes, these men essentially picked the pockets of tens of thousands of Americans,” U.S. Attorney James B. Comey said at a Manhattan news conference. The suspects had access to the computer systems of the three major credit-reporting companies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - Comey said.

(via Newsday)