Even the Most Diligent Can Be Hacked

There may be assumptions that individuals and businesses that fall prey to credit card fraud are those that typically don’t pay attention and leave themselves open for the crime. This assumption would be false, as even those that are diligent about security and protection can suffer the slings and arrows of credit card hacking.

Checking credit card charges and balances should typically be done at least twice per month. In this particular case, an individual not only complied with this requirement, but also made use of credit card notifications if charges exceeded specific amounts. One of the credit cards had a zero balance and had not been used for almost eight months. When she was told that she needed new tires for her car, this was the credit card that she selected.

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The retailer was not only a well-known car dealer in the area but one that she purchased the car from and visited every three to four months for the standard maintenance. The reputation of the dealership was heralded throughout the area and when the tires were installed, she handed them the credit card for the purchase.

Three days later she began to receive email notifications followed by personal telephone calls form the credit card company. She knew it was due to the high cost of the tires but was shocked when she found out that other charges had been made in a retail store sixty miles away. The credit card company had immediately cut off the charge ability and contacted her. After a conversation with the credit card company she called the dealership and spoke with a manager, conveying all of the details to him and requesting that he keep her posted on anything that was found out. No additional communication came from the dealership.

Although it can never be proven, the suspicion is that the culprit was an internal employee. The credit card was handed to a single employee where they took it to the accounting area and processed the charge. This should have been an alert as all transactions in this type of environment should be processed in front of the customer at the time of the charge and then returning the credit card along with the receipt for payment.

This particular case was somewhat easy to track down and she contacted the automotive dealer, placing them in contact with the credit card company. All non-authorized charges were removed and a new credit card was issued, but there was never any explanation from either party as to who had been involved with the credit card fraud.

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“Advice from First Calgary Financial is simple: if you cannot insert your chip card with your thumb pointed at the device and have your thumb remain fully on your card, do not enter your PIN”

“This circumstance proves that even those that are the most attentive to their credit card situations can fall prey to unscrupulous people. Each time you use your credit card, whether online or in a brick-and-mortar store environment, you are vulnerable to potential credit card hacking. Da Vinci CyberSecurity continually works to educate both private citizens, businesses and staff members to alert them in the many methods they can protect themselves. Diligence and consistency in monitoring charges is the key to catching these criminals.”

Sharon Knowles, CEO of Da Vinci CyberSecurity

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