Credit Card Skimming


How would society function without the ubiquitous magnetic card reader? Card readers are found virtually everywhere that business is conducted . But there's a dark side: Skimmers, or wedges, as they're sometimes known, are small battery- powered card readers used by criminals to steal credit card data from unsuspecting customers. In most rings, skimming is performed by waiters, salespeople, clerks, or anyone involved with handling a credit card. The waiter takes your card, leaves the table, reaches under his apron, and presto, swipes your card through the skimmer in less than a second! In some cases criminals don't even bother to conceal the skimmer from the victim. They wear it audaciously on their belt, and the victim has no inkling what they are looking at.

In a recent raid in Queens, New York, detectives discovered a laptop computer containing 4,300 stolen card numbers that had been skimmed from patrons throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The ring had equipment to make counterfeit cards, including legitimate blank cards probably stolen from American Express and MasterCard. Credit card skimming is on the rise. When you're out in public, keep one eye on your credit card and the other one on the lookout for skimmers!


Figure 14.3: A credit card skimmer

Dispose of Credit Card Receipts Properly

Identity thieves can do almost as much with carelessly discarded credit card receipts as they can with the credit card itself. Your name , credit card number, and signature are on that innocuous little slip of paper. Don't leave it behind on some restaurant table or litter the public sidewalk with it. Take credit card receipts with you and dispose of them securely.




Invasion of Privacy. Big Brother and the Company Hackers
Invasion of Privacy! Big Brother and the Company Hackers
ISBN: 1592000436
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 135
Authors: Michael Weber

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