Video shows raid on Seattle home of Capital One hacking suspect

KIRO 7 was first to obtain dramatic video showing the Seattle woman accused in the Capital One data breach taken into custody.

Paige Thompson, a former Amazon employee, is accused of stealing information and compromising the security of millions of bank customers.

The video shows armed agents coming through this driveway. The others living at the home told KIRO 7 that agents shattered windows on two vehicles and smashed the surveillance cameras mounted on the house.

But the cameras still caught images of the raid and suspect Paige Thompson.

Housemates asked not to be identified but said the raid happened about 6 a.m. Agents took roughly $10,000 of computer equipment, housemates said.

Roomates said Thompson did not work for some time, and that she taught herself how to be a hacker.

According to a housemate, “She said when she worked for Amazon years ago that she did some hacking. Everything she knows, she learned by herself.”

Experts say a credit freeze is the best thing you can do if you’re a victim.

Court documents said, “A firewall misconfiguration permitted commands to reach and be executed by that server.”

Online, FBI agents found she posted information from the intrusion on a page that includes Thompson’s full name.

The FBI also obtained a conversation on the chat program Slack on June 27, when someone called her activities “sketchy" and warned her not to go to jail.

She appeared to incriminate herself in a direct message on Twitter on June 18. She said, "I've basically strapped myself with a bomb vest, dropping Capital One's dox (documents), and admitting it.”

If convicted, Thompson faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

That limits access to your credit report, blocking out new creditors and making it harder for thieves to open accounts in your name. It also does not affect your credit score, and freezing your credit is free.

It used to cost $10 at each of the three main credit bureaus. But after a big Equifax breach in 2017, KIRO 7's Jesse Jones began campaigning for free credit freezes for all. The state legislature approved the change last year. A few months later, Congress passed a similar bill nationwide.

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