After they introduced plastic cards, people sighed with relief. Everyone had the hope that wages would now never disappear from their pockets in an unknown direction. If a person does not tell anyone the PIN code of the card and does not pay it in places that have a dubious reputation, then the money will not go anywhere. It would seem that everything is great. But this is far from the case. Cases of online fraud are very common. And to avoid them, you need to be extremely careful. Today, our article is devoted to the following question: "Carders - who is it?".
What it is?
Carding is a type of fraud in which certain actions are carried out with a plastic card of a person without his consent. Is it developed in Russia? According to law enforcement agencies, in our country carding and hacking are virtually absent. However, in the late nineties they flourished. Want to know carders - who is it? Fraudsters specializing in withdrawing money from someone else's plastic cards. Today carding is developed in Western countries, in places where there are a large number of entertainment facilities and resorts. Such actions fall under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud”. But usually such cases do not reach the court.
How scammers get details
The details of plastic cards are extracted by carders by hacker methods. That is, hacking online stores, payment systems, personal computers, stealing confidential information. To obtain the necessary information, carders also actively use phishing scams, in which people are misled in various ways and forced to register on fake sites. In other words, users voluntarily transmit confidential information to third parties.
Learn more about phishing
Firstly, paying with a card for a purchase or service in online stores, etc., in fact, is not so safe. Unscrupulous employees who have access to the data that a person leads on the site when buying can use it. To do this, fictitious Internet firms are created. Unlucky users once receive “joyful” news that they have paid for the delivery of tons of bananas from South Africa or something like that from their account. In other words, a fictitious company sells "air", and the real money is withdrawn from the account for its payment.
Such schemes are quite common, so it’s safer to pay on the Internet using payment systems than using your card information. And scammers are not only in online stores, they can be found in popular social networks. For example, some time ago, the Photostran service, which belongs to people from one post-Soviet republic, was ranked as potentially dangerous. There are a large number of cases when users of this social network bought the internal currency of the service or paid for some services with a plastic card, and after some time funds were withdrawn from the account without their knowledge. The money went to pay bonuses in games or buy any views, impressions and other services that this social network provides.
Fake sites
The most common phishing option is fake sites. Let's say certain craftsmen create a website that looks very much like an online store where people pay with their cards. At one point, the user receives a letter in the mail in which the "administration" of the store or other service asks to follow the link and make some manipulations. This is necessary in order to confirm the security settings, or some other specious pretext is used.
The user follows the link, gets to a page that, by its design, is very similar to the familiar site where he used to buy something. Then he enters his personal data there. Now scammers can make purchases on the Internet with the user's card. It is useless to file a fraud application: it is almost impossible to find someone who cranks such schemes. You can protect yourself quite simply. Do not click on dubious links. A serious organization never sends such users e-mails to their users. In addition, you should regularly update your browser. All popular browsers have high-quality anti-phishing programs that are regularly improved.
Vishing
This is another way to steal money from an account. The scheme is quite simple. An unfamiliar person calls the client of the bank and introduces himself as an employee. Further, the client is asked to enter personal data in the tone mode of the phone supposedly to restore the system after a “failure”. A gullible person instantly posts his card numbers and PIN codes. The emphasis is on the fact that you need to do this as quickly as possible. Fraudsters do not give time for thought. This makes people forget about security and do what they ask, because money is at stake. After a person reveals his data, a polite “bank employee” says goodbye. And for a certain time, usually small, the funds from the card disappear. It also falls under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud”. But this does not help much to a deceived person. Filing a fraud with the police is futile. Find a swindler is almost impossible.
Skimming
This is one of the types of carding. A skimmer is a device with which you can intercept the necessary information from magnetic tapes on plastic cards. Officially, these devices appeared in 2002 in Europe. Perhaps they were created much earlier, but until this year there was no information about skimmers.
This device consists of two parts. The first is a fake bank card acceptor. It is attached to an ATM. It is used to read information from cards. If a person has been using the services of a certain ATM for a long time, then it will be easy for him to detect the fake that has appeared. But the people who came to him for the first time, it is difficult to do. Therefore, this method is popular in places where large masses of people move.
How to protect yourself from this kind of fraud? You need to carefully study the terminal for bank cards. After the card is inserted into the card reader, a picture of the ATM appears on the panel. You should compare this picture with an ATM, if differences are found, then it is wiser to refrain from conducting operations.
The second part of the skimmer is a fake keyboard. It is needed to obtain information about the PIN code. A chip is built into the keyboard, thanks to which SMS messages are sent to the scammers phone. Defining a fake is not so difficult. Such a keyboard will stand out on the plane of the ATM. When a person enters his PIN there, he is immediately sent to scammers via SMS.
What do carders do with the information received?
After the necessary information is received by scammers, they record the information received on another plastic card. Usually it does not have any logos and external design at all. Such cards are called "white plastic." With their help, attackers withdraw money from any ATM. In rare cases, complete fakes of existing bank cards are made, which are used to pay for goods in stores. This is one of the schemes that scammers use. Plastic cards of this kind are usually used once, then they are thrown away.
What countries are popular with carders
Carders are attracted to highly developed countries with advanced computer technology. There it is easier to collect the necessary information on the Internet and design the necessary devices. The democratic structure of the country, where human rights are actively promoted, is also important. If the police catch the carder, it will be easier for him to get away from punishment or get off the minimum. In third world countries carding is quite difficult.
Firstly, it is problematic with computer technology, and sometimes it’s even difficult to find good internet. Secondly, in such a country, if a carder is caught, the punishment will be severe. For this reason, scammers prefer Western Europe and North America. The most dangerous settlements with popular resorts and the presence of numerous entertainment venues.
Safety precautions
The answer to the question of carders is who we are, we already know. But how to save your money and not become a victim of scammers? To begin with, the same skimming is slowly starting to recede into the past. Banks try to take care of their customers and regularly improve and update equipment. ATMs with built-in skimmer protection are now popular. It works as follows. A plastic card is accepted by the ATM, and then the device partially pushes it out. Then it is accepted by the ATM completely. This sequence disrupts the work of skimmers, and they cannot fully read the data.
It is recommended to use ATMs that are located directly next to the bank. It is desirable that there are many surveillance cameras around. As mentioned above, you should very carefully inspect the ATM outside. If something seemed suspicious, then it’s wiser to go to another place. The safest time to withdraw money is from 9am to 11pm. Usually, it is during this period that ATMs are checked by employees and police officers.
Internet Security
So carders - who is it? Fraudsters whose goal is to withdraw money from people's plastic cards using any means available. As for security on the Internet, you should carefully store your personal data. Never send them to anyone or email them. You should also refrain from entering personal data on questionable sites. A serious organization or payment system will never ask the user to send or place passwords or PIN codes in plain text somewhere.