| offline CC theft
and people are worried about online CC fraud... |
LifeinAsia
msg:4522642 | 6:43 pm on Nov 26, 2012 (gmt 0) |
We took my parents to Vegas for the Thanksgiving weekend. While waiting for lunch, my dad received a call from his credit card company asking about several thousand dollars of suspicious charges made recently at a travel agency. Nope, not him- someone got his CC number and made some charges for travel to some exotic places.
He had only used that card once in the past few days- at a gas station in Vegas.
So it sounds like someone installed a reader on one or more gas pumps and sat nearby waiting for people with out of state plates to use their cards. They probably figured that anyone from out of town wouldn't be home for several days (especially over the long weekend), so the thieves would have several days before the card would be reported stolen.
Lessons learned:
1) Beware when you swipe your card through a reader that's not monitored by employees. Or don't swipe it at all. (I rarely use a CC to pay for gas.)
2) When you travel, make sure your credit card companies have your cell phone (or make sure you can check your home answering machine/voice mail remotely- and check it frequently).
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phranque
msg:4522711 | 12:55 am on Nov 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
one of the local fuel stations had an unsecured wifi connection for the cc terminals on the pumps and someone was sniffing the traffic.
several neighbors (that buy the cheapest gas around) got hit by that one.
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Shaddows
msg:4522898 | 1:44 pm on Nov 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
| unsecured wifi connection |
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Fine, thats stupid. But... surely the terminals must encrypt the CC details. I cannot believe they are sent in the clear, regardless of the security or otherwise of the WiFi.
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not2easy
msg:4522900 | 2:07 pm on Nov 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
With the new *Blink* RFI enabled cards, it could have been sniffed without any transaction, right in the wallet.
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engine
msg:4522959 | 4:51 pm on Nov 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Sorry to hear about that scam. It can be very inconvenient, as well as financially burdensome.
Scanning the card is one of the easiest things to do, and it takes very little time to do. With chip and pin cards they have to get your pin, or the cvv code on the back. That's not difficult with some people that make it obvious when keying in the pin, or making the cvv number visible.
Over the phone purchases are also risky, of course. I had to take a supplier to task over the card details they wrote down on their multi-part form. How dumb of them was that! I found out they'd written id down in clear, legible text when they mailed me a copy. I insisted they track down every copy of that multi-part form and provide me with evidence they redacted the relevant text.
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StoutFiles
msg:4523028 | 9:04 pm on Nov 27, 2012 (gmt 0) |
Put a temporary limit on your card before you travel. That way the thief can't steal much at all. If you end up needing to spend more, call the CC company and increase the limit.
I wouldn't let one CC theft keep you from using something that is not only extremely convenient, but pays you back with bonuses.
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