CARD attack attacked

The banking industry has hit back quickly against claims that chip and PIN cards are vulnerable to fraud. Click here for the Press Association story on the issue.

CARD attack

The banking industry's confidence about chip and PIN cards looks set to take a battering. It has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Cambridge how a stolen card can be used in retail outlets and online. The problem for customers is that it comes up as a PIN verified transaction and banks are refusing to refund customers for what appears to have been a legitimate transaction. The cards can't be used by criminals at an ATM or once it has been reported stolen and cancelled. Read more about it here.

Fraud and Midweek

Last night I got another chance to go on about fakes, frauds and scams, this time on TV3's Midweek with Colette Fitzpatrick. If you missed it or want to watch it again click here for the TV3 catch-up. Una Dillon from the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) was also on the show talking about how ATM and credit card skimming works. And then there was the shameless plugs again...

CARD sharks

It's looks like we were right to be paranoid about credit card fraud. A court case in London has laid bare the extent of the black market in stolen personal data. A secret website, DarkMarket, was uncovered when one of it's organisers, Renukanth Subramaniam (pictured), was stung by an undercover FBI agent. Strictly invitation only, users of the website from all over the world, sold and swapped stolen personal details that allowed them to carry out huge frauds. One buyer spent st£250,000 in just six weeks for stolen information. The operation to shut down DarkMarket came after the FBI cracked the ShadowCrew site in the US. They think the site was just one of a 100 they know about, but that hundreds more could exist. Read the full story here in The Guardian.

CARD skimmers

Irish people just love ATMs, using the cash machines twice as much as the EU average. Card skimming, however, has quietly gone off the radar in Ireland. While the level of skimming has dropped from a peak of €14 million in 2002, there are individuals and gangs still operating in the country. The value of card fraud is still about the same but has dropped significantly as a proportion of transactions, according to figures from the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO). Many bank customers are aware of skimmers and look out for possible card-readers attached to ATMs. Bank security has improved as well to make life harder for the skimmers. Late last year there were organised attempts to skim card details from retail outlets in which fraudsters posed as technicians to tamper with or replace point-of-sale card readers. It's a more audacious way of harvesting Pins and customers but potentially very effective.
It's a sure sign that the improved security and awareness has forced skimmers to look for new ways in. Once one point of attack is closed off to the fraudsters they'll look for another weak spot
But the future doesn't hold out any good news unless the banks move early to ensure their systems are safe. An article in today's Wired magazine suggests that hackers have found a weak spot in the banking system to harvest unencrypted Pins. In the meantime keep an eye on your account...