Credit Card Skimming: Global Fraud
Credit card skimming is a type of fraud committed on a daily basis around the world. It is the theft of credit card information used in a legitimate transaction. A Department of Justice national survey has shown that approximately 4 million households suffered an unauthorized use or attempted use of a credit card in 2007. In the future it is estimated that one billion credit cards will be distributed that will susceptible to electronic credit card skimming according to a statistic provided by the United State Bureau of Justice. This is one of the top concerns regarding fraud in the 21st century. Credit cards holders as of now are usually unaware of purchases made due to skimming frauds as the current methods
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In the case of ATM readers it can be difficult to spot a fake cover plate instillation if the cardholder is not activity looking for signs of tampering. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seen this as an active issue with widespread cases. They have compiled a list of potential warning signs as well as steps that can be taken to prevent ATM skimming. Such steps include, visually inspecting the card reader for damage or loose parts as this may indicate that it has been tampered with or that a cover has been installed. This addresses one issue that may arise, in terms of keeping your personal identification number (PIN) a secret, they recommend covering the keypad while entering your PIN so a camera cannot record your number. If possible, using a card reader in the institution in sight of security cameras and the watchful eye of employees as installing a cover plate would be near impossible in such situations. These preventative actions can mitigate ATM skimming and should be practiced by everyone who uses these …show more content…
In order for these methods to be effective, they must shield your device from transmitting electronic signals from your credit card when it is not in use. This is a problem because RFID chips are activated by electronic pulses. One way of blocking these signals is obtaining an RFID blocking sleeve. The sleeves are designed to hold one card at a time and make RFID skimmers unable to read card information while they are in them. A potential drawback to this approach is there can only be one card in each sleeve and making the card unable to fit in wallet slots. Even simpler approaches to an RFID sleeve can be achieved by simply wrapping the card in a sheet of aluminum foil. Even with all of these potential blocking methods the heart of issue lies in the fact that consumers are unaware of the potential threats that are introduced with RFID and may even be unaware their cards have such capabilities. A suggestion of mine to mitigate these attacks would be to increase overall public awareness of such fraudulent
The Web. The Web. 17 Mar. 2010. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php>. Fearon, Peter. The.
...only hear about the different ways that criminals are committing electronic fraud such as hacking in to somebody’s computer and stealing their credit or debit card information. There are also cases where peoples identities have been stolen and whole other lives have been built on them by another person. It all started with check fraud and although it’s not talked about as much anymore, it is still a very large concern for most business owners and people like you and me. The tips that have been provided for us can help protect us from fraud, but it is up to us to take the extra steps to prevent check fraud. We cannot sign up for check fraud protection the same way we could for credit or debit card protection or to help protect ourselves from identity theft. There are processes in place to help us once we’ve experienced check fraud but it is up to us to avoid it.
It is often disguised to look identical to the original keypad. Overlays allow thieves to capture your PIN number as you enter it, while still allowing the original keypad to receive the PIN number as well. By itself, an ATM overlay is not a tremendous source of identity theft. However, when combined with a mechanism that obtains your card information – such as a skimmer, loop, camera, or other device located at the ATM – a skimmer now allows the identity thief to have access to your bank account, including both your PIN and your debit or credit card number. As a component of ATM theft, ATM Overlay theft contributes to the estimated $1 billion in annual losses banks experience from ATM skimming
Where in 56 million payment cards were stolen and the issues related to the occurrence.
credit or debit cards accessible in one easy location and it’s even got the extra security of the
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a computerized ID innovation that uses radio recurrence waves to exchange information between an onlooker and things that have RFID gadgets, or tags, attached. The tags hold a microchip and receiving wire, and work at universally distinguished standard frequencies. Barcodes are much smaller, lighter and easier to use than RFID. But RFID offers significant advantages. One major advantage of RFID is that the innovation doesn't require any observable pathway; the tags can be perused as long as they are inside the range of the spectator, whereas in barcodes in order to read the barcode the barcode scanner should close around 10-15 fts.
In this regard, they are also safe because the cards can be easily replaced, and only the owner of the card know the pin number to access its stored value. This takes care of the problem with cash; once it is stolen it is nearly impossible to trace and recover it.
III. Thesis Statement: Identity Theft is rapidly becoming a national issue because anyone of us could be a victim of identity theft. How we protect our self, keep our information private, identify any signs of identity theft, and report and repair our credit is up to each one of us. We have to be vigilant about our protecting ourselves from criminals.
Have you ever received a credit card bill at the end of the month with a ridiculous amount of money needed to be paid that you never spent? This is because of identity theft. The FTC estimates that each year, over 9 million people are affected by identity theft. According to Sally Driscoll, this is because almost anyone with a computer and a slight bit of computer knowledge can pull off identity theft. Experts also claim that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world. Identity theft is a global problem that cannot be stopped without effective measures. The problem is, effective measures are very hard to come by when dealing with identity theft because almost any security protocol can be by-passed.
There are several ways that identity theft thieves gain access to your personal information. Lost wallets, purses, stolen or lost mail used to be the main source of such private information. Mail, which sometime, includes bank statements, pre-approved credit cards, and tax papers are a source of a large amount of data. In recent years, many have been known to steal reco...
The skimmer scans the credit card’s magnetic strip and steals the information and that information is placed on another card and is used for purchases. Embezzlement can happen to any company at any time if there is no security protection for that company. A case example would be the Woodruff Arts Center $1.48 million was stolen
...et up illegitimate credit card accounts, bank accounts and other accounts – this is called identity theft.
Credit card identity theft is become more common in today’s time than it ever has been before. The more credit cards that are made, the riskier they get. Credit card theft is leading to identity theft. One’s personal information such as social security, birthday, bank information, name, address, and other important information can be received through a credit card if it is hacked. Having one’s identity stolen can cause a negative impact for their entire life but there are some solutions that could prevent identity theft through credit cards. Credit cards should use a new identification number for each credit card the user owns, each transaction should have a different number code, and a secret code used just by the user for the specific card.
RFID is a technology that has been developed, updated, and enhanced since the year 1970 (Bonsor). The technology has advanced, making it more efficient, usable, and productive. RFID uses radio waves to transmit information from an RFID tag to an RFID reader. These radio waves are similar to those that are broadcast through wireless networks except are generally shorter range (What is RFID, n.d.).
There are mixed views about the true seriousness of the issue but there is agreement that the information on credit or debit cards (and for that matter passports) can be skimmed (electronically pick pocketed) and then used by the thief to buy things or to impersonate you. CBC investigations have proved that you can even read the information through the person’s wallet, pocket or handbag using the phones NCF antenna communication.