Credit Card Scam

CREDIT cards are the fastest-growing method of paying for goods and services. And despite soothing noises from financial institutions about the security of their use, tales abound of fraud by thieves assuming the identities of others.This is not only because of flaws in the general level of maintenance and care both by individuals and organisations which "bank" customers' details, but because technology-assisted thieves have managed to spy on credit card transactions electronically and otherwise, and convert the knowledge to their illicit use. Stories of consumers checking financial statements in Brisbane and discovering thousands of dollars in debt run up in their name overseas are not the product of bad dreams; they're the work of computer-assisted thieves.
This week, a US scam based on capturing details of magnetic strips was exposed. It compromised 130,000 Australian users of MasterCard and Visa Card. The worrying aspect of this breach is that the users were among 40 million worldwide to have their card details processed by the US-based CardSystems Solutions between September and December last year – but the public was kept in the dark in the name of continuing investigations until now. The Federal Opposition is correct in noting that the breach highlights the lack of regulation requiring the card schemes to notify issuers, such as banks, of potential problems. But the fraud also demands increased levels of security by individuals and institutions – and a monitor on overly generous credit limits set to encourage consumer spending.
till next time, Michelle.