A Seattle resident has been arrested after allegedly using peer-to-peer file-sharing software to steal personal information from other users.

Gregory Kopiloff was arrested on Wednesday on charges of mail fraud, accessing a protected computer without authorisation and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The 35 year-old faces up to 29 years in prison if convicted.

According to the Federal charges brought against him, Kopiloff used the stolen information to create fake bank accounts and credit cards and then bought thousands of dollars worth of goods.

Kopiloff used the Limewire and Soulseek P2P networks to carry out the alleged thefts, and investigators claim to have identified 83 victims so far.

"Gregory Kopiloff is a poster child of a 21st century thief," Kathryn Warma, assistant US attorney, told a news conference.

Geoff Sweeney, chief technology officer at security firm Tier-3, warned that P2P networks are a breeding ground for criminals because the bulk of transmissions involve copyrighted materials.

"Kopiloff's case acts as a stark warning to P2P file sharers, as he is alleged to have remotely scoured users' systems to look for income tax returns, student financial aid applications and credit reports," he said.

"The fact that he appears to have been able to cherry-pick only those people earning more than $150,000 suggests that he had a wealth of user files to choose from."