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Cracking Atlanta Subway's Poorly-Encrypted RFID Smart Cards Is a Breeze, Part II

Posted by timothy on from the connecting-supply-and-demand dept.

McGruber (1417641) writes In December 2013, Slashdot reported the arrest of seven metro Atlanta residents for allegedly selling counterfeit MARTA Breeze cards, stored-value smart cards that passengers use as part of an automated fare collection system on Atlanta's subway. Now, six months later (June 2014), the seven suspects have finally been indicted. According to the indictment, the co-conspirators purchased legitimate Breeze cards for $1, then fraudulently placed unlimited or monthly rides on the cards. They then sold the fraudulent cards to MARTA riders for a discounted cash price. Distributors of the fraudulent cards were stationed at several subway stations. The indictment claims that the ring called their organization the "Underground Railroad."

7 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Not counterfeit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The cards were original, not counterfeit.

    1. Re:Not counterfeit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Anyone who talks in leet speak (or doge) needs to be kicked in the nuts.

    2. Re:Not counterfeit by NemoinSpace · · Score: 4, Insightful

      AND read the article??? Telling someone to STFU is standard fare. Let's not heap unreasonable demands on top. It just adds injury to insult.
      The noob remark is just poor form.

  2. The REAL value of the transit system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think Atlanta should try to learn from this situation.

    They found the REAL value of the transit system. The price people were willing to purchase the "counterfeit" cards is much closer to what the general public is willing to pay for "legitimate" cards and they will probably have more riders at that price and as a result, more revenue. Adjust your costs to fit this selling price instead of running things the other way around.

    They can probably even learn a thing or two about the ring's distribution system.

    1. Re:The REAL value of the transit system by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Of course that viewpoint is really nothing more than over-simplified libertarian fantasy. A reasonably implemented subway doesn't just benefit the direct users, it does things like reduce air pollution and increase the utility of the real estate around it. That means that people who don't even use the subway benefit from it and so it is a public good. That's not a dig against libertarians, the smart ones understand public goods. Its only the recent converts who are overzealous in their simplified view of the world who have a problem figuring it out.

    2. Re:The REAL value of the transit system by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We are always told how efficient cities are as compared to other forms of living but the cities are the only places that actually seem to need high levels of subsidization.

      Typically the reverse is true. Rural areas need more subsidy per capita than cities.

      Cut the subsidy money off and a lot of people that live in cities won't be able to live there anymore.
      They'll have to move to cheaper areas.

      Clearly you haven't considered all the poverty in cities in countries where there is little public subsidy of anything. You never heard of favelas and shanty towns? These are often people that had to move to the city because despite the poor conditions and poor pay there, in the countryside where they came from they would starve.

  3. Re:Real story by Fjandr · · Score: 1, Insightful

    No, it was probably a dig against the South in general.