MAN CHARGED WITH HACKING PERSONAL ACCOUNTS, COPYING PHOTOS

March 27, 2017

MAN CHARGED WITH HACKING PERSONAL ACCOUNTS, COPYING PHOTOS

MOUNT HOLLY - Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and Delran Police Chief
Alfonso Parente Jr. announced that a Philadelphia man has been charged with hacking into the email, cell phone and social medial accounts of several women who were his classmates at Delran High School and making digital copies of their personal photographs.

Dr. Peter Grossman, 29, of the 200 block of South 12th Street in Philadelphia, was charged with one count of Impersonation and Theft of Identity (Second Degree), six counts of Impersonation and Theft of Identity (Third Degree), 21 counts of Elements of Computer Theft (Third Degree), and seven counts of Invasion of Privacy (Fourth Degree).

The investigation revealed that Grossman, who is employed as a physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, illegally gained access to several password-protected accounts of and made digital copies of more than 2,000 photographs. Grossman graduated from Delran High School in Burlington County in 2005.

The investigation began in September 2016 after one of the victims went to the Delran Police Department with a suspicion that her email and cell phone accounts had been illegally accessed. Several of the woman’s friends had similar suspicions.

Grossman was developed as a suspect and in September 2016, detectives from the Delran Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department executed a search warrant at his residence. Investigators seized six personally-owned electronic devices with digital storage capabilities belonging to Grossman.

The items were analyzed by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit and found to contain photographs of 25 females, 12 of whom were positively identified. Investigators are working to identify the other victims.

The investigation revealed that in addition to hacking into the victims’ cell phone and email accounts, Grossman also illegally gained access to iCloud, Snapfish and Facebook accounts. The accounts contained passwords that were easily determined by information posted in the publicly accessible portions of the victims’ social media platforms. 

“This case presents an excellent warning concerning passwords, and why they must be complex in order to withstand attempts by hackers and anybody else to gain access to private accounts,” Prosecutor Bernardi said. “Using the name of a child or some other known personal detail will often result in a password that is vulnerable to being hacked.”

Digital security experts recommend that passwords be created without any personal information and contain a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers and symbols. At a recent hearing in Superior Court in Burlington County, Grossman was released pending the conclusion of the criminal matter. The case is being prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury.

The investigation is being conducted by detectives from the Delran Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

Those who have reason to believe they are a victim of this defendant are asked to call the Delran Police Department at 856-461-4498, extension 149.

All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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