February 17,2009
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CC and ID Theft 2009, Pt.2
Technical innovations.3) Cyber Thieves: This industry is so huge and dispersed, it may never go away. It seems like millions of consumer credit cards are compromised this way every month or two. These are the ‘biggies' in the global black market. With $276 million worth of product that, along with special offers and discounts could yield around $5.3 billion, this market is here to stay. In fact they are so powerful that the industry moguls brazenly flew their private jets, purchased with stolen credit cards) into Washington to address Congress. There, they actually publicly requested a bailout from the Fed because the bad economy had hurt their business. Then they flew back home. You can't stop them, just protect yourself. Pay close attention to your credit card accounts. Monitor on-line every few days, if possible. (For more info on the credit card black market, please refer to the article series': "Made in the Shade Shady Business", "CC Black Market Thrives.", "CC Black Market Product Line." and "Why Do You Think They Call it ‘Bail Money'?")
4) Skimming: This is one of the fasting (if not the fastest) growing methods in the credit card thieving industry. The cost of the skimming devices has come down in cost with the increased sales. There are basically three types: Conventional, Card-slot and pocket-portables.
- Conventional: The conventional models look just like the ones you see behind counters. A thief doubling as an employee will simply swipe your credit card through the counterfeit machine and upload your secure data to a PC after leaving work.
- Card-slot: This device fits over the credit card slot of an ATM or gas-pump scanner, disguised as a ‘face-plate'. The victim's card is then scanned twice when inserted. When removed by a credit card thief at a later time, of course, the data is uploaded into a PC at home.
- Pocket-portables: These are used in situations where the credit card is momentarily out of the victim's sight, like at a restaurant. It only takes a moment to duck into a corner and scan a card with a pocket scanner. They're everywhere and working great for a lot of thieves.