Operation Sundevil describes a number of raids made by the
Secret Service based in Arizona with cooperation from various regional
racketeering task forces on May 7, 8, and 9 of 1990. The goal of the operation was to send a message to the underground
BBS community becoming increasingly active in credit card theft and
wire fraud. Raids occurred all over the US targeting
BBS operators, members, and hackers in
Austin,
Chicago,
Cincinnati,
Dallas,
Detroit,
Los Angeles,
Miami,
New York,
Newark,
Phoenix,
Pittsburgh,
Richmond,
Tucson,
San Diego,
San Jose, and
San Francisco. Some 42 computers were confiscated resulting in over 25
BBS communities taken offline. In addition, an estimated 23,000 floppy disks were seized along with a large amount of notes, printouts, and books. Only four people were arrested during the raids.
Although the name Operation Sundevil originally was meant to only apply to the raids in May, the name has became attached to other Secret Service actions in 1990. These other raids included the Atlanta Three, Craig Neidorf, Loyd Blankenship, and the most famous Steve Jackson Games raids.