Huge Credit Fraud Ring Sends Europeans' Data To Pakistan

marshotel excerpts from a story at the Wall Street Journal: "European law-enforcement officials uncovered a highly sophisticated credit-card fraud ring that funnels account data to Pakistan from hundreds of grocery-store card machines across Europe, according to U.S. intelligence officials and other people familiar with the case. Specialists say the theft technology is the most advanced they have seen, and a person close to British law enforcement said it has affected big retailers including a British unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco Ltd."

Comments

Which probably explains....

[Angostura]

... why my local Tesco changed every one of its chip-and-PIN readers to a new make and model about 2 months ago. At this point you're probably wonding which make the old devices were, and I can't for the life of me remember. Sorry.

Re:One-Time Passwords for Transactions

[ScrewMaster]

Well, ATM security is based around the idea of limiting or preventing losses due to external access, having no benefit whatsoever if the system itself is compromised. Also, given how easy it is for anyone (even an ex-con who was put away for wire fraud and helped with an MSNBC expose on the subject) to buy an ATM machine directly from the manufacturer and get it tied into the banking network ... well. There was a big theft ring with several hundred compromised ATMs that was busted up in New York a few years ago, millions of dollars in losses. I thought then that it was only the tip of the iceberg, and it appears I was right.

The things aren't exactly trustworthy to begin with, and given the security track record of companies like Diebold, I find ATMs a risky way to get money. I will sometimes use the one inside my bank, but it's not that hard to go the cashier or the drive-up and get cash. Forget about using the "Money Machine" at the local gas station.

Re:Credit cards are evil.

[zippthorne]

Notice that there are no liability limits on debit card fraud, however. If a thief steals your card and drains $10,000 from your account, you now have $10,000 less than you did before you were robbed. The bank does not have a statutory obligation to return your money. Debit cards are horribly risky devices.

Although they do not have a statutory obligation, many banks do offer a contractual obligation that appears at first glance to exceed the statutory one for CCs. It's been a few years and there haven't been any big exposees on debit card weaselly contracts, so I'd condsider switching from debt based plastic to debit.

Any lawyers who've examined some of the basic debit card agreements?