Counterfeit credit/debit card fraud: Let's stop it now

These tips may seem obvious, but mentioning them again can’t hurt. It’s your hard-earned money at stake, after all:

> Stare: It’s no longer considered rude to stare at your card for the entire time it’s in the hands of a clerk or waiter.

> Shield: When using your debit card, lean in and cover your PIN entry from every angle, the digits you protect equal the money in your account.

> Change: The bad guys have figured out the number-increment algorithm many banks use. If at all possible, make sure the last eight digits of the new credit/debit card’s number are different.

> Check: The average time between stealing credit card information and using it on-line has dropped from 10 days to three. It is recommended that you check your on-line accounts at least that often.

Mr. Patterson’s endeavor

Those tips are important. Yet, they are overshadowed by Mr. Patterson’s real quest. Here is what he wants to do:

“Completely eradicate counterfeit card fraud world-wide in the next 24 months. With the banks losing over 4 billion dollars a year and growing rapidly, the industry is ready to fight back. Organized crime has declared this fight, and it will take a unified effort to repel.”

We all know about credit/debit card fraud. What surprised me was the scope of counterfeit card fraud. Expert after expert pointed out that using counterfeit cards or information obtained from credit/debit cards supports most illegal activity throughout the world.

Counterfeit cards

This YouTube video will give you an idea of how simple it is to steal information embedded in a credit/debit card’s magnetic strip. As the video shows, the only hardware required is a computer, card reader, and magnetic strip card writer. One expert commented on how easy it is to buy card skimmers (readers) on eBay. So, I looked and, sure enough (courtesy of eBay):

(Read the rest of the story at: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=2825&tag=nl.e036