Canada fraudsters get credit
Statistics provided by the Canadian Bankers Association shows combined annual losses due to debit and credit card fraud in Canada exceeded $500 million in 2008. The Canadian Criminal Intelligence Service issued its 2008 report
The majority of credit card fraud losses are attributed to counterfeiting and fraudulent purchases. Hackers are targeting online sites to steal data and using malware and keystroke-logger programs to steal credit card data.
A case study in the report describes a commonly used MO by credit card fraudsters:
The investigation was sparked by an incident caught on video tape at a video store inWinnipeg in March 2008 when a customer used a counterfeit credit card as payment. Law
enforcement intelligence identified this same individual with a history of being extremely
proficient in computers, of forging documents and trafficking in credit cards. After further
research, the RCMP became involved and the incident transformed into a full blown operation,
dubbed Project H23. Detectives involved in the operation confi rmed that the individual’s computer expertise
extended well beyond the norm. His group hacked into computer networks, obtaining over
45,000 pages of credit card data from computer websites originating in Europe and the
United States. Project H23 also clearly demonstrated that some gang members and associates
employ or have access to persons with sophisticated skill sets. Police recognize that
this level of sophistication/expertise is becoming more prevalent among organized crime
groups.
A recurring theme is that these fraudsters will steal your personal information, including your credit card details, from the easiest target. The security of some internetstores is not up to standard. And yes: these stores (or should I say their clients) are the honeypot for digital thieves.
The report does not bring very spectacular news from a financial crime point of view, but it is always an interesting to read what priorities, and intelligence capabilities, of law enforcement across the globe are.
http://www.cisc.gc.ca/annual_reports/annual_report_2009/document/report_oc_2009_e.pdf
