Week 9- Top Secret Service agent helps kick off cyber-crime campaign in South Florida

According to Ihosvani Rodriguez from Sun sentinel, South Florida is “leading the nation in identity theft” and in other cybercrimes.  Since 2010 identity theft in South Florida has increased 76%.  Listed amongst the other cybercrimes was credit and debit card theft via illegal devices such as card readers or skimming devices.  Skimming devices can be used to capture credit card numbers and pins.  These devices can be set up on ATM machines to read the magnetic strips and take pictures of pin numbers. 

Credit and debit cards are often used by many people as forms of payment for online and in store purchases and is something that we all should be concerned about.  We also use our debit and credit cards at payment terminals, gas pumps, car wash, red box (movie rental Kiosk), gift card kiosk, and any other vending machine that accepts credit and debit cards as forms of payment.  These are all systems that can be modified by criminals to steal our credit and debit card information to commit fraud.  Store employees have also been known to commit fraud by writing down or taking pictures of customers credit/debit card numbers. They have also been known to attach illegal devices to credit/debit card readers to steal information.  Once criminals obtain your credit card numbers and pin they can create fake cards with those numbers to make purchases and steal money.  Listed below are a few tips to remember the next time you use your debit and credit card especially during the Holiday Season:

1.        Check system for any signs to tampering before using.

2.       If you see anything unusual about a system, don’t use it.

3.       Check your statements often for unauthorized purchases.

4.       Never use your cards on unfamiliar sites.

5.       Be aware of online advertisements, SPAM, and phishing attempts.

Credit card fraud can be easily fixed if caught in time.  Debit card fraud cause more damage because a criminal can drain your bank accounts leaving you without any money.  The bank may or may not credit your money back to your account.  If they do it can take a long time before they replace it leaving you frustrated and without any money. 

Article can be found at:  http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-10-11/news/fl-cyber-security-forum-20121010_1_identity-theft-cyber-crimes-south-florida