Nearly 40 people are facing charges of stealing personal information from unsuspecting Internet users as part of a global crime ring.

Federal authorities have charged 38 people with stealing names, Social Security numbers, credit card data and other personal information from unsuspecting Internet users.

According to indictments unsealed in Los Angeles and New Haven, Connecticut, the Romanian-based phishing scams sought to rip off thousands of consumers and hundreds of financial institutions.

The Justice Department announced the busts in two separate but related cases Monday morning during a trip by the deputy attorney general to Romania.

More than half of the people charged in Monday's cases are Romanian, although the scam allegedly operated from the United States, Canada, Portugal and Pakistan. Authorities say the cases are linked by two Romanians who participated in both schemes.

In Los Angeles, 33 people are facing charges that include racketeering, bank fraud and identity theft. Prosecutors say phishers in Romania snagged information from people who answered spam e-mail. The data were then sent to the United States and encoded on magnetic cards that could be used to withdraw money from bank accounts.