Holiday fraud—How not to be scammed

Reprint from November 18, 2010

in Crime Prevention, Cybercrime, Fraud, identity theft, theft

Crime in America.Net

We passed around material from the US Department of Justice recently on the investigation of computer crimes. The documents are profoundly detailed and indicate that the justice system is taking the issue very seriously.

Throughout this site we have made an effort to warn consumers that computer based fraud is increasing. We’ve stated that 8 million households experience identity theft and noted a 31 percent increase in credit card theft, see http://crimeinamerica.net/2010/07/02/8-million-households-experience-identity-theft-31-percent-increase-in-credit-card-theft-prevention-resources-available/. We also posted methods and sources to protect you from computer crime. All of our previous cybercrime posts are at http://crimeinamerica.net/category/cybercrime/. We are deeply concerned that offenders are gravitating towards the internet in increasing numbers; it’s easy, there are endless targets and the risk of violence and apprehension is low.

Preventive information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is below as to what you can do to keep the scammers from scamming you during the holidays. We’re not suggesting we know more than the experts, but the bottom-line seem to be:

• Don’t give out personal or financial information on the internet;
• Deal directly with reputable websites and stores;
• What appears to be a huge bargain is a fraud.

To read the entire article, please click here: http://crimeinamerica.net/2010/11/18/holiday-fraud%E2%80%94how-not-to-be-scammed/

PCI: Smaller Merchants Threatened

Criminals Now Picking Less Compliant Targets

Linda McGlasson, Managing Editor

The Payment Card Industry's Security Standards Council may be doing a good job helping lock down larger retailers, but the smaller "Mom and Pop" merchants are becoming the new targets of cyber criminals, says a PCI expert.

A recent report on PCI compliance by Verizon Business shows some unsettling trends, says Jen Mack, Verizon's director of global PCI consulting services.

Mack says Level 3 and 4 retailers are now being targeted by cyber criminals for the theft of credit card data. Examples of these targets include restaurants in several states that were hit in the past several months -- the latest being one that had its POS system breached in Tallahassee, Fla.

Level 3 merchants are defined by those merchants that have 20,000 or more credit card transactions annually. Level 4 are those that have fewer than 20,000 credit card transactions per year.

The PCI report shows that businesses of every size "are better at planning, doing -- not at checking if they are compliant," says Mack, a former member of the PCI Security Standards Council. The overwhelming majority of data breaches occur because of failures to check things were in place. Despite arguments to the contrary, Mack says "There's no open hole causing data breaches that isn't covered by the PCI standards."

To read the entire article, click here -  http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=3019&rf=2010-10-23-eb