JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| Nicosia
Nicosia is the capital of Cypress, and if I recall Cyprus is a fraud hot-spot. Is that a clue about Pluto Data, or the client for whom Pluto Data is processing charges?
And what's the big deal about this particular fraud? Fake charges scams like this are a dime a dozen, unfortunately. |
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rewket
Premium
join:2003-08-21
Longueuil, QC
| heard about it
The people i know that are in the cc buisness told me about this, tis a new way to make money off them without most people noticing (most people dont notice a little 30$ and when they do and they're told they bought something they just dont care)
anyway imo anyone who gets his cc stolen is a gook, check the security of the friggin site before, if it mails your info including your cc something is wrong?
this should be dealt like spybots(ircbots)
only idiots get them in most cases |
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vwev1993
Premium
join:2003-06-18
Mesa, AZ
| "Employees"
I read the whole threads last night. The "employees" that the story quoted from became members to this site just so they can post as a member. They claimed they just "employees" and do not have any contact info for Pluto. I smell something bad. I agree with legalbegal. Everyone who becomes the victim of this crime should report Answer Quick to authority so that they got investigated. |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
Host:
Road Runner
PC gaming GAMES
PC gaming Tech
| reply to JPCass
Re: Nicosia
quote:
And what's the big deal about this particular fraud?
Why not? If two people Google Search this article and find information, or two more notice the charge on their credit card, isn't it worth talking about? |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·BroadVoice
| reply to rewket
Re: heard about it
Thats not really a fair thing to say! Contrary to what YOU may believe a large percentage of credit card fraud is NOT due to people giving it out during phishing scams. You should really read the news before making broad comments like that. The real culprits are large, legit companies who have a lack of security on their servers. Thieves hack into the databases of everyday companies and then steal the customer data. This data includes personal details such as credit cards, birth days, and in some cases SS numbers. Look at the Paris Hilton thing if you dont believe me! These thieves then use this stolen information in scams like the one this thread is based on. While there are literally thousands or morons out there who do give up their CC information to fake websites, identity theft can happen to anyone, anywhere. I considered myself bulletproof when it came to my identity. That was before I had it stolen. To this day when I purchase products online I still click on the "contact us" link so I can get the companies phone number and then I call the order in. I was lucky that the "only" thing that happened was some kid(?) signed up for Columbia Music House and received some free CD's for about a year. I promptly called my CC company as soon as I found out about it, and then after 5 months I finally got my money back. It was a hassle, and they refuse to give me any information about the person who did it. The bottom line is that IDENTITY THEFT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE, NO MATTER HOW TECHNICALLY SAVVY THEY ARE. Report these scumbags and lets send them all to jail. What people really should do is rally together and make corporations who "lose" your data take responsibility.
--
I like dogs, guns, and cheeseburgers. Whats your malfunction? |
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StudioTech
S2409W plus SA4250HD
join:2001-10-10
Edison, NJ
| Use virtual numbers if possible
If you have a credit card that allows you to generate a virtual account number, then do so for all your online transactions. You can set a spending limit and set it so that the number can only be used at a particular merchant (Citibank does this for example). This way if that number gets stolen, the thief will have a harder time trying to use it. |
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CapnKrunch
@dsl.net
thumbs down from:
Andrew J 
| Safety First
"anyone who gets his cc stolen is a gook"
unfortunately, even if you use every security measure known in existence, it doesnt mean that the company you trust to do the same with your information actually does! |
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JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| reply to vwev1993
Re: "Employees"
If I recall, one of the postings in the original thread indicated that the "answering service" had to ask for the whole credit card number to look up transactions - not the transaction number. That sounds fishy to me, or at least poorly set up and potentially dangerous. |
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rogue_
I Have A Secret Window
Premium
join:2001-10-17
Lake Hiawatha, NJ
| What do they have in common?
Hmm.. What do all these people who have had their CC's stolen have in common?
Did they buy tool points at BBr?
Did they buy hardware from Newegg?
Maybe a book from Amazon?
Does anyone know?
--
Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. |
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kenyg
join:2001-02-09
Hatboro, PA
| I'm not a gook
Last summer, while preparing for tradeshow my company was attending, I FAXED my credit card info to the company running the exhibition, to pay for electrical power. I used a card with a small balance. It was the only time in 2004 that I had used that card.
Several days later, on the way back, I got a call from my wife saying someone from a software company had called saying my card came back as over the limit, and did I want to use another card.
So I called the guy and he said my cc nr was used on his website to order $1500 worth of help desk software. Not me - he was very helpful, and was able to look up the IP address on the transaction - which came back to a car dealership. I contacted the car dealership, and also the exhibition company - and neither could help me - without a name. Being as no charges were actually made - there really was no damage done. The exhibition company told me that without a name - they didn't really have much to go on. Someone at there company must have copied the fax or something. The car dealership was really upset - but the owner assured me that they would have no use for a software suite such as that.
I cancelled the card that day - but If I had used a different card with a larger limit - it would have gone through. And if I had used my company Amex, with no limit - there could have been some real damage done.
Not much you can do to protect yourself against dishonest employees.
--
aye aye captain! |
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rewket
Premium
join:2003-08-21
Longueuil, QC | reply to wifi4milez
Re: heard about it
ok i didnt read it whole because you obviously know NOTHING about carding
carders do get their cc's from smaller companies, ALL OF THEM
all they do with big companies is scam them (paypal/ebay) |
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oldduke
join:2001-06-15
Gulf Breeze, FL
 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to rewket
I agree 100% with wifi4milez. First, you're a very thin thinker. More to the point, though: Before Internet buying my wife bought a $20 item from Home Shopping Club over the phone as advertised on TV. About a month later Visa calls that our card is maxed. An HSC employee stole the credit card number AND all the ID info and had a ton of stuff sent to Detroit. We wanted to prosecute. Visa said no, they'd just write it off. There is as much mis-, non- and malfeasance on the industry side as there is negligence on the user side.
--
Cogito ergo sum, I think. |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA
| reply to rewket
As wifi4milez said, having your CC number stolen doesn't mean that you entered it into an insecure site. The store's database can be hacked. A malicious worker can obtain and sell the credit card information. In many cases, the person whose card number is stolen might not have done anything wrong.
A year or so ago, my wife was trying to pay my Discover card and found out that it had been disabled by Discover. Apparently, BJ's Wholesale Club had a security breach of some sort (not involving an online store) and all of the credit card numbers used in the club (even in the physical store) during a period of time were potentially compromised.
BJ's informed the credit card companies. Discover Card took the preventative measure of cancelling the cards and reissuing new numbers. Besides being upset with them for not communicating this action to me, I was glad that they did it. Better to deal with having to wait for the new card than to deal with constant fraudulent charges.
--
-Jason Levine
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
http://www.PCQandA.com/
http://www.urateit.com/ |
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Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA | reply to StudioTech
Re: Use virtual numbers if possible
I totally agree. It's just too bad you can't use a one time use number at a physical store. It can reduce your risk from online shopping significantly though. |
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Deca2499
@155.45.x.x
thumbs down from:
Andrew J
| Fake CC charges.
With regards to the fax number being copied.. I went with my parents to visit a friend over a holiday weekend in another part of the state a few years ago. While on the trip the only person with somewhat of an Internet connection (dial-up to my place of employment) was me on my laptop. A few days after we got back, my mother was going thru her debit card statement online balancing her checkbook and came across a weird charge. It was a charge made while visiting friends. Interesting part was.. It was a subscription to Playboy online.
Come on now. 50-something yr old woman subscribing to playboy? We took a closer look at what happened, on top of canceling the card and disputing it with the bank and found that in the course of the trip, we had made a few purchases using the card. (gas, meals, lodging.) a few of the CC receipts had the FULL card number with exp. date on the receipt. We figure someone copied the number from the receipt and made the fraudulent charge.. Now we never go without blacking out the number before giving back the receipt. We checked it out and found that it was legal to do this. It is not hard to copy something off paper once it is down.
I hope this person (persons) are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent.. (death would be good..  )
Scott |
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DrewCapu
Giant Diehard
join:2001-12-19
California
clubs:
| reply to rewket
Re: heard about it
said by rewket :The people i know that are in the cc buisness told me about this, tis a new way to make money off them without most people noticing (most people dont notice a little 30$ and when they do and they're told they bought something they just dont care) Until they realize it was for a cd or a dvd. Then they say, "What? I've never bought a cd or a dvd in my life!"
oops
[RIAA & MPAA representatives enter scene] |
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DrewCapu
Giant Diehard
join:2001-12-19
California
clubs: | reply to rogue_
Re: What do they have in common?
Yeah, sounds like a case for that guy on Numb3rs |
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TwoMatchMike
join:2005-02-23
Severna Park, MD
| reply to kenyg
I'm not a gook either. What's a gook, anyway?
As one of the people hit by Pluto Data, I can say that I only used that credit card online at large "reputable" companies. I used it a fair amount in bricks-and-mortar too.
Pretty nearly anywhere that you use your credit card, you expose it to potential compromise. Every so often, you will hear a news story about a department store clerk or a restaurant waiter getting caught with a "skimmer"- a card reader that captures the data on the magnetic stripe so it can be used to make a bogus card. Years ago, "Legion of Doom" used to hack AT&T's phone switches and listen in on mail-order catalog transactions to collect credit card numbers.
In this case, the scheme is only profitable if the crooks have thousands of card numbers to work with. That suggests that they stole records from a ligit merchant (either by hacking or by inside help).
The only really effective protection is to monitor your billing statements closely and make sure that you recognize every charge. If you don't, call your credit card issuer and let them sort it out.
-Mike |
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pcdebb
RIP dadkins
Premium
join:2000-12-03
Tampa, FL
clubs: 
| reply to rewket
Re: heard about it
said by rewket :(most people dont notice a little 30$ and when they do and they're told they bought something they just dont care) if a person gets hit with this bogus charge and has $35 in their account, they will notice. it would be naive of a person to have an "i dont care" attitude to any dollar amount they didnt charge. the fraudsters bank on just that. apparently more people notice these days, which is a good thing. like it was mentioned before, $30 individually may not seem like much, but hit a few thousand for that amount and they are stacking it lovely. i wonder if all the proceeds are eventually ending up in one pot?
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babbling | mvm |
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pcdebb
RIP dadkins
Premium
join:2000-12-03
Tampa, FL
clubs:
| reply to Jason Levine
said by Jason Levine :As wifi4milez said, having your CC number stolen doesn't mean that you entered it into an insecure site. The store's database can be hacked. A malicious worker can obtain and sell the credit card information. In many cases, the person whose card number is stolen might not have done anything wrong. Exactly. My mom's account got hit (thankfully she had less than $5) like 5 times in 10 minutes by some wankers in Belize. She doesnt even have a computer,but yet someone got her account info and printed themselves a card. it can happen to anyone
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babbling | mvm |
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