Electronic cash, not letter boxes, stupid (darkside) hackers

[Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>]

9/16/96

         HAMBURG, Germany (Reuter) - A German student who used the
Internet for long-distance theft of computer data from a U.S.
company was arrested and charged with extortion for demanding
ransom for the return of the data, police said Monday.
         The student, from the city of Muenster in northern Germany,
sent the ransom letter through electronic mail (e-mail),
demanding that the firm pay $30,000 to a letter box in a Hamburg
post office.
         Police declined to identify the company.
         A police spokesman said the student and two accomplices had
illegally logged into its computers and stolen the data.
         Police said they were waiting at the letter box and detained
a 19-year-old, who later led them to the 26-year-old ringleader.