A Seattle man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for using Limewire to lift personal information from computers across the U.S.

Frederick Wood, typed words like "tax return" and "account" into the search box. That allowed him to find and access computers on the Limewire network with shared folders that contained tax returns and bank account information.

Wood also searched for forms that apply for college financial said, which include personal and financial information about the family. He used this to open accounts, create identification cards and make purchases.

Wood was apprehend,ed executing a more low-tech crime. He advertised an computer on Craigslist, and a Seattle resident responded and met Wood. After paying with a check and leaving, the man discovered that there was only a book and a vase in the box.

The victim helped police set up a deal with Wood, who was arrested when he handed another box with no computer, this time to a police officer. Police searched a computer they found in Wood's car and found tax returns, bank statements and cancelled checks stolen from more than 120 people.

"I think it's a horrible idea for people to have peer-to-peer software on their computers," said Kathryn Warma, assistant U.S. attorney in the Computer Hacking and Internet Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office.