The Hacker Who Ran a Billion-Dollar Gift-Card Scam

Picture this—ATMs in Seattle spewing out cash in perfect sync, like they’d all been hit by the same invisible switch. Within minutes, hundreds of cloned gift cards are swiped across the U.S.—gas stations, grocery stores, luxury malls. Millions vanish, silently, into the digital void.

And behind it all? A single man sitting in a beach café in the Maldives, sipping espresso and typing commands into his laptop. His name: Roman Seleznev—the son of a Russian politician, the mind behind a billion-dollar gift-card scam that paralyzed American retailers.

How did one hacker bring global payment systems to their knees?
And why did no one stop him… until it was far too late?