A HACKER from Cromhall has been jailed for three years after enabling credit card fraud of more than £26.9 million.

Jay Moore, 21, set up the Freshshop website to allow cyber criminals to buy and sell stolen payment card data.

When officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) raided his parents’ home in 2011, they discovered a safe in his bedroom containing more than £80,700 in cash.

After searching his computers, they found the card details of more than 340,000 people.

Moore pleaded guilty to 12 charges of fraud, money laundering and computer misuse at Bristol Crown Court on June 1 and was jailed.

A SOCA spokesman said that even more unsuspecting victims could have been targeted by the cyber criminal.

He said: "The sale of this compromised data earned Moore substantial profits, including £170,000 credited to his bank account and £80,700 in a safe at his home in Cromhall."

"In addition to the fraud attributed to specific cards, the information brokered by Moore would also have been sufficient to enable fake bank accounts to be set up," he added."These could in turn be used to commit further fraud, such as cheque or identity fraud."

After setting up the Freshshop website, Moore recruited Mancunian Damian Horne, 22, whom he met on an online hackers chat room.

Together they began selling stolen iTunes vouchers and online gaming codes on eBay.

The scale of their illegal activities soon escalated as they set their sights on credit card data, laundering the proceeds of the sales through a network of bank accounts, online financial institutions and overseas money exchangers.

Moore, who had no formal qualifications, used his advanced computer skills to obtain databases of credit card information which he then made available through his website. Freshshop was designed to look and operate like any other online retail site.

The 21-year-old, from Cowship Lane, also allowed other hackers to sell their stolen data on the website for a commission.

With his gains he was able to purchase among others a top of the range BMW with a personalised registration plate valued alone at more than £10,000.

He also gave his father £40,000 towards buying a farmhouse.

To conceal the large sums of cash flowing in to his bank account, Moore recruited two friends, Lewis Danter, 20, from Coalpit Heath and John Allen, 22, from Bedminster Down, to collect money on his behalf from Western Union outlets in the Bristol area.

They both pleaded guilty to money laundering and were sentenced to 120 hours of community service each.

Damian Horne was sentenced to 21 months in jail.