Hacking Arena

Credit Card Hackers Are Here - Have You Checked Your Credit Report Lately?


Credit card hacking has become one of the new security headaches of consumers. Although in face to face transactions the percentage of credit card fraud is almost a tenth of a percent, in online transactions it's as high as two or three percent. That means that for every one hundred transactions you may do in the internet, you may suffer two or three breaches in your private information. Stopping credit card number hacking is, nowadays, one of the priorities of credit card brands around the world.



One funny thing about many of these hackers; free credit card numbers are posted at the internet. Some of them don't want the potential money that can be acquired from this information, only the fame.

How Are Credit Cards Gained By Hackers?

A hacker has many ways to gain a credit card number from an innocent user. The most common one is known as phishing. In this technique, the hacker poses as an officer within an organization, let's say VISA. The hacker sends to a group of email accounts an alert, instructing the receiver to follow determined set of instructions before his credit card is cancelled.



If the user is not aware of this kind of fraud, he will insert his credit card number, his name and expiration date without knowing he is going to be a victim of an online crime.
Another way for hacking credit card numbers is through a website. The hacker only needs to hack the systems of an online retailer, let's say, Costco, and search for the database where the retailer stores the information of all of the users who have made recent transactions.




The third way is through the online process of buying. Let's say an adult finds a website with adult content that he or she finds attractive. It's quite probable that the website is only a masquerade for acquiring credit card information from you.

What Is A Carder?

A carder is a criminal who specializes in stealing information from credit cards. Although the majority of them buy the information from online vendors, some of them are quite savvy on how to access that information by themselves.



In the physical world, a carder will steal the information from a user while doing a face to face transaction. The criminal only needs to pass the card through a special scanner. This device will read from the magnetic strip all of the credit card information. Afterwards, the carder will trespass that information to a blank card available in many identity card stores.



In the virtual world, credit card hacking is a bit more sophisticated and automatized. A hacker could install inside your system a credit card hacking software known as Bugbear. This program is a keystroke logger; it captures the keys that you have pressed in your keyboard and after some time, it transmits this information to the hacker. The criminal will navigate through this data, searching for any private information that can give him access to your credit card.



Besides Bugbear, there is also the IRC bot. This automated software is used for determined functions, like a moderator for a chat room. But if it is used by a hacker, he may use it for stealing your credit card information. The IRC bot will pose as an official from a company, asking you to insert your credit card information.



Another mean that hackers use for stealing money from your credit card is through unused ebay accounts. Once they find a possible victim, the hacker uses a program that starts bombarding the account until it breaks it. Once inside, the hacker will use it for posing as the real user, selling equipment that will never reach the buyer once he buys it.



What if Your Address is changed by Credit Card Hackers?


Some credit card hackers pose as you and change the address of delivery of your credit card report. That way you will not find out any possible charges until is too late. If your credit card report doesn't arrive in time, then call the bank and the postal office and ask them what the address that is registered in their database is. Additionally, hacking credit reports is a simple but useful way to learn more about a determined user.

What Are the Signs That Let You Know That Your Finances Are Compromised

The first sign is if a bank official calls you and asks about charges to your credit card that you don't remember, specially if they are from vendors in another country or websites that you don't access.



Another sign is if you find strange consumptions in your credit card report, specially those with strange names that you don't recognize.


The last sign is if you want to use your credit card and the store reports you that don't have credit line to do the transaction. If you are up to date in your consumptions and know that you had enough credit to make the buy, then something is wrong.

How to Report a Credit Card Hacker and How to Stop Them

If you find someone who is using his website looking to hack a credit card number, report him to the host provider that it is giving him the service. The host provider will immediately contact the authorities and cancel the hosting service to the hacker.



Through this procedure, credit card number hacking is starting to suffer the weight of justice. In different countries, authorities have started to find and arrest these hackers. One of the most known cases occurred only a couple of months ago, when a criminal organization in New Jersey that was dedicated to credit card hacking was dissolved. Although it's taking some time, the law is starting to impose its force.