Hundreds of people hit in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle

A wave of complaints from Capitol Hill and First Hill area residents of fraudulent credit and bank card charges has a local bank looking for answers and police working their way through a big jump in fraud reports on Capitol Hill.

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The credit card industry has partnered with merchants to plug two of today’s biggest leaks

As consumers, we’ve grown accustomed to paying for purchases with credit cards wherever we go. Yet, that universal acceptance has caused us to think about how easily someone with bad intentions can gain access to our account numbers and our other personal information. The credit card industry has partnered with merchants to plug two of today’s biggest leaks

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A new kind of card fraud to be aware of

A new kind of attack to your account where your card information is compromised with a skimmer, then given to people nationwide who will then use your card simultaneously. Check out more at the link below.

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Fight Against Credit Card Fraud At The Pump

One NJ company steps up to the plate against Credit Card Skimming at the pump. Check out this article to learn more.

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As we head into the holiday season

Make sure you are informed of the different threats to your Identity and cards. Take a minute and educate yourself. Hopefully the following article can help you in preventing any of these scams from ever happening.

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Victim of Debit Card Fraud gets to see the theifs using her card

It was said in the video below that the victim, who lost $1500.00 had her card skimmed at a local restaurant, along with others. Usually victims done get to see the criminals eating on their dime. Check out the following video to see what happens after your card in compromised.

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Fact of the Day:

Identity thieves stole $54 billion dollars in 2009, 75 percent of that fraud was in stolen or misused credit card numbers. Another 33 percent was in debit card fraud. (These numbers add up to more than one-hundred percent because some people had both credit and debit fraud.) Help spread the word about... Alpine Payment Systems Dine Fraud Free Program. Share this with your friends.

A 4 month investigation on a skimming ring unfolds

Two men are wanted in connection to a credit card skimming/ID theft case. Police say that the suspects were using credit card skimming equipment at local restaurants. They have not released the number of victims yet.

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What kind of business do you run?

Alpine Payment Systems specializes in customized rate plans for each of our customers to help you take credit and debit in the most secure way possible. Check out all the services Alpine Payment Systems offers at our website listed below.

Alpine Payment Systems

PCI compliance does not only pertain to POS systems

If you accept credit and debit as a form of payment, and you are not certain that you are processing those cards on a secure network or on secure equipment. You are at risk of compromise. Check out the story below:

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PIN Debit has helped in decline of in-person card fraud

According to the PCI Council, the widespread use of chip and PIN technology has led to a significant decline in in-person credit card fraud, though cases of "card not present" fraud have increased.

So far, however, the question of adding PINs or fingerprint checks to U.S. credit card transactions has been moot. Credit card issuers in the United States have yet to embrace any new security techniques, biometric or otherwise, beyond the signature or, in some cases, photographs on cards. One impediment could be the relatively high cost that would be required to replace, throughout the country, all point-of-sale credit card readers with readers that work with PINs or fingerprint checks. Read more below:

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Credit Card Skimming Operation

Check out how a credit card skimming operation works:

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How Credit Card Skimming Works

Credit card skimming is an ongoing problem that continues to plague consumers. As more and more awareness is raised about credit card theft, people tend to be more careful about credit cards nowadays, but still credit card skimming continues to rise.

Today's thieves have graduated beyond stealing a number off a customer's card when they aren’t looking. Instead, they take your card information when you use it to purchase every day items.

Here's are some ways it works:

*Portable Skimmers

Portable skimmers are small devices that capture vital credit card information including the card owner's name, credit card number, expiration date and/or other security codes included with the card. How they work is the thief covertly skims the card through the device and collects the digital information. Later on, often after numerous credit card thefts have occurred, these card numbers are then re-written onto different cards. This is similar to the process that happens when you check into a hotel and they make you a new key card.

*Middlemen

Ringleaders of credit card fraud typically 'outsource' the actual theft to a middleman to act as the go between the victim and the fraudster. These middlemen are usually carefully selected employees of various business, chosen because of their job allowing them to have access to many credit cards per day. Workers chosen are typically lower salary employees who may be tempted to earn some extra cash. These employees are handed the skimmers. Fraud ringleaders typically pay on average between $10 and $30 per credit card, as reported before on our site, some go for as low as $.85 cents. The price depends on the credit limit and the bank issuing the card. The higher priced cards are ones that have high limits with banks that done specialize in fraud prevention.

*Installed Skimmers

Many banks and businesses that have their credit card processing set up as self-service could be used as the point of theft for credit card fraud. What thieves do is install skimming devices over the existing credit card scan in order to pilfer the information as consumers think they are giving it to the business and/or bank. Often they install small cameras which collect any PIN numbers which are used.

*Wireless and Laptops

Gas stations are commonly afflicted by this means of skimming. As more and more pumps become 'pay as you go', wireless technology is often used to send the credit information from the pump to the server. What thieves are doing is patiently sitting nearby with a laptop intercepting the data and downloading it to their personal computers. Often, skimmers are installed inside the pump.

*Businesses Used

Credit card skimming can happen anywhere, but the most common types of businesses targeted to act as the source of cards are usually restaurants, fast food drive through windows, bars and gas stations.

The reasons why these kinds of businesses are selected is simple. Customers typically allow their credit cards to leave their possession for brief periods of time so employees could scan their cards. In the case of gas stations, skimmers are often installed either inside or outside the pumps and thieves simply use wireless technologies and pilfer information as it travels wirelessly from the gas pump to the server. Employees monitoring would have no way to see something was amiss.

Must See!

Check out the following YouTube page. I was researching ATM skimmers and stumbled across this. This is posted only for educational purposes. I want you to see how easy it is for people to purchase what they need to skim your card/pin number.

YOUTUBE

Fake a Credit Card

Check out the following video to see how easy it is to fake a credit card.

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Server at Famous Dave's BBQ pleads guilty to skimming customers cards

A woman accused of stealing debit and credit card numbers when she was a waitress has pleaded guilty to a fraud charge.

Elizabeth Lail-Caldare, 23, of Pensacola was sentenced to 11 months and 15 days in jail followed by 24 months of probation.

Lail-Caldare, arrested in May, was accused of using a skimmer to steal card numbers from people who dined at Famous Dave's barbecue restaurant on Bayou Boulevard in April.

Two other suspects were arrested in July.

Nigel Humphrey, 19, also known as Gaspar Bishop, is in Wakulla County Jail. Paul Adams, 46, also known as Trevor Hubbard, is in custody in Wayne County, Ohio.

Lail-Caldare told investigators that she met the men while working at Famous Dave's. She said she exchanged phone numbers with one of them and was asked to help in a credit card skimming operation, according to court records.

She told investigators that the men would bring her a skimmer before she went to work, and one of them would retrieve it after her shift ended. A skimmer is a device used to steal credit card numbers.

The Police Department suspects the men used the stolen card numbers to make fake credit and debit cards and buy American Express and Visa gift cards.

22% of US businesses meet PCI DSS requirements

Following PCI requirements can reduce the risk of a data breach for any business accepting credit/debit cards. Check out the following report on how 22% of US businesses meet the requirements to protect their customers card data.

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Rise in Skimming cases in the San Diego area.

Authorities report a rise in Credit Card Skimming in the San Diego Area. Read more below

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Ask your server, "Is your restaurant PCI compliant" you may be glad you did.

Another case of a restaurant owner not making sure that their equipment was compliant and protecting their patrons card data. When you sit down at a restaurant, ask that your card not leave your hand, then ask, is your business PCI compliant? You will be enthralled by the response. If they take the steps that the Payment Card Industry require, you are less likely to lose your valuable card informaiton. If they have no clue what you are talking about, you may want to direct them to our blog.

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It doesnt take a degree from MIT

It's a common for most to think that you have to know a criminal or have years of technology know how to pull off a skimming ring. Well, it's not. Check out the link below to see how easy it is for someone to purchase everything they need to skim credit card information.

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