Wallingford, Conn.-based eUniverse said only a "portion" of its customer database was stolen. However, the New York Times reports that the thief, reportedly an 18-year-old Russian national who goes by the handle Maxus, claimed he had possession of 300,000 credit card numbers.
Maxus published at least 25,000 of those credit card numbers on Saturday. The FBI, which is investigating the case, shut down the site -- Maxus Credit Card Datapipe -- on Saturday.
In a message posted on that site, Maxus said he had "pipeline" into the "the biggest online shop database." Maxus' message read: "If you press the button you will get a real credit card directly from the biggest online shop database. No kidding."
"We take great pains to safeguard the privacy of our customers' information and will take all necessary action to limit any loss or inconvenience to customers which may occur as a result of this unusual occurrence," eUniverse Chairman Brad Greenspan said in a statement.
"Refusing to bow to this new breed of cyber-criminals, we have taken a stand against a new form of online blackmail on behalf of all legitimate e-commerce retailers."
