Have you ever imagined if your town or city where you live is known for something related to hacking? Well, if you are a hacker or love to do hacking related stuff then you might plan to shift your residence to Romania.
Râmnicu Vâlcea which is a town in Romania which is only known for hackers. Guess what? The town is full of hackers and scammers and that’s the reason it became world’s famous as the global center of cybercrime.
Râmnicu Vâlcea which is also known as “Hackerville” had gained fame because approximately half of the town’s population are Craiglist and eBay scammers. The town Râmnicu Vâlcea is three hours driving distance away from its capital, Bucharest. However, Hackerville is much popular than Bucharest.
The town Râmnicu Vâlcea is full of BMW’s and Audi cars and most of the townspersons seems to be involved in some kind of cyber scam or hacking. According to Wired “Expensive cars choke the streets of Râmnicu Vâlcea’s bustling city center—top-of-the-line BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes driven by twenty- and thirtysomething men sporting gold chains and fidgeting at red lights.”
However, only a few citizens of Hackerville are real hackers whereas others are cyber scammers. They “steal thousands of dollars per transaction from foreign buyers.” Even young men of Hackerville have become rich just by utilizing their hacking capabilities.
How the first cyber crime started in Râmnicu Vâlcea is still unknown. However, many claims that the first cyber crime started was during the 1989 revolution, where citizens of Râmnicu Vâlcea had access to sophisticated tools and computers.
The cyber crime business in Râmnicu Vâlcea started spreading after 2002 after a mini tech revolution in Romania. Cyber cafes of Râmnicu Vâlcea offers much cheap internet access which motivates hackers to spread their skills.
The town Râmnicu Vâlcea later came to the notice of FBI detectives who then started keeping eyes on the hackers from Râmnicu Vâlcea. However, nothing has changed till now, citizens of Râmnicu Vâlcea go on scamming and phishing peoples and make some quick and good money.
