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15-04-2006
Revealed: how credit
cards are plundered on the Net
By Jonathan Richards
THE credit card details of thousands of Britons
are being sold in internet chat rooms by criminals who hack into
company computer systems and steal information in order to commit
identity fraud.
Every day at least 400 credit card numbers, along with other
personal information including three-digit security codes, PINs and
dates of birth, are sold by the gangs, The Times has learnt.
Other pieces of information routinely taken include phone numbers,
e-mail and street addresses, and mother’s maiden names.
A credit card number sells for $1 (60p), while a card with a
three-digit code fetches $5. Additional security information such as a
mother’s maiden name can add $10 to a card’s value and a working PIN
can push the price up as high as £100.
The thieves target both companies whose customers buy online and
those that take orders by more conventional means, demonstrating that
it is not just internet-based companies that are at risk but any
organisation that holds personal information about consumers.
The Times contacted 14 customers whose details had been
passed to it by a
US
company that monitors such chat rooms. They were astonished when a
reporter read out their credit card numbers.
In fact, various throat problems are said to be among the most commonly accepted reasons why people snore, including an irregular uvula. The uvula is the small skin that dangles in the back of the mouth and is easily visible. At night, it often rests in the back of the throat and causes restricted breathing. When this happens, the individual is said to begin snoring because of the restriction.
The names had been taken from unidentified British servers. By
ringing the individuals on each list and checking which purchases they
had made on the day the details were stolen, The Times was led
to two reputable companies — one a supplier of travel goods based in
Amesbury, Wiltshire, with a database of more than 20,000 customers,
the other a computer sales company in Sheffield. Neither company was
aware that its systems had been targeted.
The names were among hundreds that were sold during a single
night’s trading in the chat rooms.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency said that cybercrime was “among
its priorities” but declined to comment on the methods and resources
being used to combat it.
Alun Michael, the e-Commerce Minister, said: “These findings are
disturbing and we will look at them very seriously.”
Banks are planning to address the problem by issuing card numbers
which are valid for single transactions only, meaning that if the
number is subsequently stolen from a company database, the risk to the
cardholder is substantially reduced.
Source:
Timesonline.co.uk
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