Debit card fraud outbreak raises questions about data breach

Computer World ^ | March 9, 2006 | Jaikumar Vijayan

[APRPEH]

BIO-METRICS ARE COMING

[Publius6961]

Naming the retailers responsible for the breach is absolutely essential, as far as I'm concerned.
I certainly would profit from knowing...

[BlueStateDepression]

They are already here. Around here if you want to cash a check at the bank it is drawn from and you don't already have an account then you must place your thumbprint right on the check you seek to cash.

I support technology that stiffens actual identification of individuals. I know alot of folks cry wolf about privacy but I argue that bio's help keep your privacy private.....and this article is a good example of how it can help do that.

[PeterPrinciple]

The company denied that any of its internal systems had been compromised and said that a review of its gas payment systems by its own staff and an outside party revealed no breach.

"If any compromise occurred, it appears to have been limited to the Sam's Club fuel station point-of-sale system" and did not involve PIN-based transactions, the statement said.

It didn't happen but if it did happen, this is where........

[SIRTRIS]

Amazing, PIN number stored w/ every transaction. What a feeding frenzy for crooks ... just given to them on a silver platter too!

What do financial institution always say, "TRUST US"!

[Emmett McCarthy]

Like so many other things folks sell us and tell us. It's always "safe and secure", well, until it's not anyway.

[Graybeard58]

The immediate furor was ignited earlier this week by Citibank

I get emails, supposedly from City Bank and Chase, asking me for personal info concerning my accounts with them. I don't have accounts with either of them and wouldn't answer their emailed questions even if I did. However there are a lot of people out there who would and do.

Lot's of people are falling for these "phishing" expeditions and are making fraud easy.

[ex-Texan]

My brother was the marketing director for a major west coast bank in the 1990's. He told me way back then that bank security had been compromised by the Los Angeles mob. This back when commercial real estate was starting to rise very quickly after the crash in the 1980's. He told me the mob had infiltrated the bank and he suspected key people above him had been bribed. The executive vice president was a big gambler and was dropping major bucks at Santa Anita. There were reports about crazed parties on the corporate jet. Typical corporate corruption back then. (It is even worse today.)

Later he told me that a key person was caught with all kinds of fake identification cards (Drivers licenses, fake social security cards, etc.). It turned out that the woman was a former prostitute working at the bank under a false name. She had become very computer savvy. Also found in her possession at the time was confidential data on thousands of wealthy bank customers. And this was way back in 1994!

These stories the mainstream media report about some guy had his lap top stolen with thousands of file is most likely bogus reporting. The cops take a theft report, do not even dust the car for prints and drive off to their next call. What really happened is a total mystery.

The mob is very active on the west coast. The best solution is to cut up all your credit cards. Keep one fully paid off card somewhere very safe. Use it for vacations. Open up a debit account with a small balance to use for 'credit purchases.' Master Card, Visa, and yada yada are not trustworthy.

[Howlin]

it appears to have been limited to the Sam's Club fuel station point-of-sale system" and did not involve PIN-based transactions, the statement said.

Ah, no; one of our cards is involved with this and we NEVER buy gas at Sam's.

[Howlin]

Published reports say Visa USA customer account numbers and personal identification numbers were stolen from a major retailer, possibly OfficeMax.

This week, Visa USA notified banks across the nation about the security lapse. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating the case.

http://www.wral.com/news/7859809/detail.html

It hit us, too; Friday night. Husband went to get Chinese food and was refused; need I even say he called me and raised Holy Hell, wanting to know WHY the checking account was empty, even though there was several thousand dollars in there? After he calmed down, he went to the bank to get cash; it kept his card!

I want to know WHO this happened to. It's not fair to cause this much trouble without naming the company.

[Unmarked Package]

This article is certainly a sobering reminder to be especially vigilant with debit card and credit card accounts. I learned the hard way about lapses in credit card security in 1997 when an account I had used for 18 years without a problem was compromised by a thief (through an Internet data source) and used to make fraudulent purchases. Fortunately, the breach was discovered quickly and the account closed.

Since that time, I've reduced the total number of debit card and credit card accounts I hold to one each. Both accounts are checked online at least once daily for unexpected charges. More rigorous authentication methods are welcome, but constant monitoring greatly reduces damages when the best of systems fail.

[woollyone]

Well, well...this might just 'splain why my bank (listed in the article as one of the affected banks) just sent me a letter yesterday stating the "Great News" that they will be re-issuing new ATM/Debit cards soon.

hmm...

I will no longer use PIN transactions
I will no longer use PIN transactions
I will no longer use PIN transactions
I will no longer use PIN transactions
I will no longer use PIN transactions
I will no longer use PIN transactions

[APRPEH]

These stories the mainstream media report about some guy had his lap top stolen with thousands of file is most likely bogus reporting. The cops take a theft report, do not even dust the car for prints and drive off to their next call. What really happened is a total mystery.

i am in this business (PI not fraud) unfortunately this is all to real

[whadido]

Could anyone please tell me what kind of software I need in order to protect my bank account when shopping online?

Thank you very much!

[ex-Texan]

You need very Spyware protection. I use PC-Cillin (updates frequently) to protect against trojans and viruses and two others to detect and remove sypware. Pick One Here. In addition, I run my antivirus and anti-spyware every day. Also, do not download email message directly onto your computer. Use a third party email service or web mail provided by your ISP.

[CaptRon]

Wonder how many digits we'll be losing to gang members?

[ex-Texan]

I do not quite understand your post. My point was about organized crime making a concerted effort to penetrate banks and credit card companies. I was suggesting some computer thefts may be a clever cover story for what really happened. Your point was that 'this type of stuff' happens. We are in agreement, correct?

[APRPEH]

your info was amazing. yes, of course it could be a cover to claim theft and actually be the perpetrator. for the folks whose ID info is on the computer, its the same either way. that inside the bank stuff is horrifying.

[whadido]

Thanks for the info. I heard that I need an "IP scrambler", whatever that is.

I'm interested in purchasing products through online places such as Amazon.com, but I'm worried that hackers will steal my personal info either through my computer or the bank account itself. The lady I talked to @ the bank told me that their end is VERY safe & secure, so if I ever have any prob's it must be coming from my end.

I heard that people can get my personal info by putting software into my computer that is able to read everything that I type...therefore, when I try to purchase anything online, they are able to get my credit card # & password information this way....so I'm scared to make any online purchases, check my bank account online, or use online bill pay because of this. Is there anything else I can do or are there other kinds of software protection out there I should get?

Thank you.