fastest-growing criminal schemes in the world. ed lowery heads the secret services criminal investigate division. >> we never lose track of the fact we are pursuing the most sophisticated criminals out there. >> reporter: how does it work? in relationships that all begin in the anonymous world of the internet, where no one uses real names, where accounts can be hidden and trust is key. masix and the ukraine would hire hacking teams across the united states. these are the cyber criminals who electronically break into stores, retailers, any company with large amounts of credit card information. the hacked accounts are categorized by credit limits, then sold in bulk, online, anywhere from $15 for a classic card up to a couple of hundred for gold and platinum. the undercover agent would pretend then to be a buyer who could use the stolen numbers and literally create credit cards that look and act exactly like