From the New York Times –
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/technology/21data.html?hp&ex=1119326400&en=e2682fc4b8435f71&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Black Market in Stolen Credit Card Data Thrives on Internet
By TOM ZELLER Jr.
*Great article on multinational credit card theft.
You know, instead of reading this online for free,
you might want to actually purchase a paper copy
of the New York Times, so that the reporter
who uncovers schemes like this can get paid,
and an alert press can continue to reveal and
combat the ever-growing tide of international
corruption.
No, wait, ha ha ha. I was just kidding.
More:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/4633901/detail.html
DENVER – CardSystems Solutions Inc. is admitting it made a huge
mistake after some 40 million credit card accounts ended up in the
wrong hands. Some of those account numbers are already being sold on a Russian Web site, and some consumers are already finding fraudulent charges on their statements.
[...snip...]
Credit card data is being bought and sold on what is now a profitable black market.
"We saw a lot of chatter in Russian chat rooms over the weekend talking about this as a big win for the good guys, you know, the electrical crime groups," said John Watters with iDefense.
Sellers of credit card data can make a bundle. Online fraud analysts
estimate a basic Mastercard number is worth more than $42. A premium card, such as a platinum or gold card with a high limit, is almost $70.
[...snip...]
Visa and Mastercard estimate that 40 million accounts could be
affected, but CardSystems Solutions said that less than 68,000 credit cards are at "high-risk."
Everyone is advised to keep a close eye on their statements and to
notify their bank or credit card company as soon if they see anything
suspicious. Cardholders can dispute purchases that were not made by them and will not be held liable for any purchases determined to have been made fraudulently.
