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Police probe reports of credit, debit card fraud
[August 12, 2011]

Police probe reports of credit, debit card fraud


Aug 11, 2011 (Mineral Wells Index - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- On the heels of a widespread information breach in Mineral Wells, banking and security experts advise simple steps to avoid becoming a victim of unauthorized debit or credit card transactions.



MWPD Chief Mike McAllester said Wednesday the department continued to take police reports of unauthorized card use and said investigators spoke with individuals about the possible method criminals used to obtain the information. At this point in the investigation, he said, no further details are available.

Ken Williamson, president and CEO of First Financial Bank, said this is far from just a Mineral Wells concern, adding card fraud has grown more rampant as people continue to rely on their cards for an increasing number of purchases.


The recent string of card fraud did not target any particular bank and Williamson said criminals can gain access to card information in a number of ways. Whether initiated by someone involved in card processing, through a reading device illegally installed in a gas pump or through various other methods, he said the result to victims is the same.

To help avoid such inconveniences, Williamson offered two recommendations that, while not preventing all unauthorized use, will make such fraud less common.

Giving out sensitive bank information and failing to regularly check bank accounts are two mistakes that can give criminals an opportunity to seize card data, Williamson said.

Banks themselves offer safeguards such as placing a limit on how much money an account holder can use in a day without signaling a possible security issue.

The amounts vary from bank to bank, Williamson said, though he feels a conservative limit offers more protection to customers.

"We try to keep ours lower so if we see an issue we can catch it earlier," he said.

Criminals often try to "test the limit," he said, starting with a transaction for a high dollar amount and, if denied, trying transactions of decreasing amounts until under the daily limit.

Williamson also recommends always using a personal identification number for card transactions.

Many retailers allow customers to swipe their cards without providing any additional confirmation that the individual is the rightful card owner, he said, and using a PIN is one more step customers can take to protect their finances.

The bank is issuing new cards to victims and those concerned about a possible threat, Williamson said, and urge account holders to be proactive so that any future suspicious activity will be caught quickly.

Visa reportedly announced earlier this week it supports and encourages the use of embedded computer chips in its cards, a feature other countries currently use, to reduce the risk of fraud.

The chip would replace magnetic strips currently used, which are the source of information obtained by thieves.

Local resident Vera Stilwell shared her recent experience, noting the issue of card fraud is not limited to bank cards.

After noticing reports showing many local accounts were compromised, she said she checked her credit card account online and saw it had been used three times at a California ATM machine, withdrawing more than $200 in each transaction.

She said an employee of the issuing company informed her someone had called to request a personal identification number change, adding they would be traveling to California.

The transactions took place between Friday and Saturday, she said, around the same time her brother and daughter also experienced unauthorized bank card usage.

Following an initial article published Wednesday, locals continued to report similar experiences, including an individual who discovered more than $450 had been charged to her account in three states, mostly at convenience stores.

Even law enforcement was not immune to the fraud, as Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jeff Poole discovered.

Both he and his wife, who do their banking in Jacksboro, had their financial information compromised, he said, with his account being used for charges totaling $626.

The issue of debit card fraud was not one he gave a lot of thought to, he said, until discovering he had been targeted.

Their bank worked with the couple to restore any lost funds, allowing Poole to remain relatively upbeat through the process.

"I'm just glad I got my money back," he said.

Nancy Cameron, another local with a familiar story, said she got a call from her bank-issued credit card company alerting her to a possible fraud.

At this point, she is still waiting for forms from the company to find out the exact amount charged to her account, though she said the charges appear to have been made in Hong Kong.

Cameron said this isn't the first time she has been the victim of such a crime, the latest being someone using her account to play online games.

"I'm kind of getting used to it," she said. "If you have good credit, people want to use your card." Though she takes as many precautions as possible, Cameron said no one can be protected completely.

"The crooks always find a way around it," she added.

Author offers advice After being involved in Operation Firewall, the largest organized identity theft ring in history, Angela Hart decided to focus her attention on equipping the public with the information needed to protect themselves from a similar situation.

Her entire life was disrupted, Hart said, when hackers targeted her computer and threatened her life, leading to her becoming a outspoken advocate of reformed computer hacking laws.

She said her experience started in July 2003, though without adequate laws to prosecute the criminals, hacking charges were not filed until more than a year later.

"My case brought about a lot of legislation," she said, including the mandate that retailers only include the last four digits of an account number on receipts.

She decided to chronicle her experience in a book, titled "Through Angela's Eye," that includes both the signs of a possible identity theft and actions individuals can take to limit their risk.

"One thing I always tell people is always view a computer connected to the Internet as hackable," she said.

Her recommendation is to store all secure information on a secondary computer that is never connected to the internet or store the data on an external hard drive, removing the drive before going online.

She also urges people to develop passwords with not connection to personal information and, by purchasing a hardware firewall, potential hackers have yet another obstacle to clear before gaining access to information.

Additionally, she said, by verifying the validity of a link before clicking on it, people can limit exposure to hackers waiting to gather access to such data.

When dealing with a credit card issuer, Hart recommends setting a limit to the amount of money permitted to be charged without prior authorization.

Hart has compiled a number of lists, each offering specific tips for preventing identity theft, available at www.hackingidentitytheft.com.

Her book is available at throughangelaseye.com.

To see more of the Mineral Wells Index or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://mineralwellsindex.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Mineral Wells Index, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.

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