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AHMEDABAD: His face is cherubic and his mannerisms childish. But, when he talks to police officials, they find it hard to catch up with this whiz-kid. Ajay (16) is a perfect example of what parents should watch out for when they encourage their children to use computers. Being a teenager from a modest background, he wanted to achieve all the good things in life - right from the latest gadgets to a lavish lifestyle.

"His knowledge of the codes and payment gateways is as good as that of a professional hacker," said a senior crime branch official who has been interrogating this teenager picked up from Mulund in Mumbai, involved in an online payment scam on eBay. Three other persons who were arrested in Ahmedabad for their involvement in the scam are in police custody.

Ajay claims to have his trusted friends in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune who help him get illegal access to protected sites. Though his father's monthly income is only Rs 20,000 per month as a manager in a textile unit, Ajay used to buy only branded clothes and go to the best hairstylist.

When the police told Ajay's father about his crimes, his first reaction was "he is too young to do something like that". But, when the officials showed him the records, he broke down. Officials have found that Ajay was always an average to above-average student, studying in Class X at present. But, give him a computer and he can beat anyone.

Ajay was happy with the progress he was making in life and told the police he did not want to pursue college education as "it was useless for earning money".

His life changed when he came in contact online with bigger hackers five months ago. He started visiting the forums meant for international hackers. One of the international sites with the tagline �We move the world to free' attracted him. It was a gateway to a heaven where the CVV (customer verification value) numbers and personal details were available for a very cheap price.

The same website was being used by his Ahmedabad-based links for dealing on PayPal � a payment gateway � to purchase goods using someone else's credit card number and bank account. Ajay used it wisely and never raised an alarm. He blames his 'amateur' associates of Ahmedabad for landing the whole gang in the police net.

(Name of the accused has been changed)