Darknet Diaries 162: Hieu
168 snips
Aug 5, 2025 
Hieu Minh Ngo, a former Vietnamese hacker, shares his journey from online opportunist to criminal. He recounts his early fascination with hacking in the 2000s, diving into credit card fraud and identity theft while navigating the dark web's murky waters. Hieu details the ethical dilemmas of data brokering, his escape from law enforcement, and the eventual consequences of his actions. Now an advocate for cybersecurity, he reflects on the devastating impact of cybercrime and his commitment to aiding victims and thwarting other criminals.
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Data Brokers' Secretive Data Collection
- Data brokers collect extensive personal data from countless sources, including public records and app trackers.
- They build detailed profiles on individuals, often without consent, for sale to various clients.
Hacking Data Brokers for Profit
- Hieu hacked into data broker platforms and stole user logins for background checks.
- He created a website selling people searches for $1 each, quickly making $5,000 in a week.
Using Liberty Reserve for Payments
- Hieu used Liberty Reserve, a largely anonymous payment system, to receive payments.
- He paid Vietnamese money mules to cash out his Liberty Reserve funds for cash.
