redtape.msnbc.com — How does someone in Moscow step up to a cash machine and withdraw money from an account holder half a world away? Even when the debit card is still in the victim's wallet? To show me how easy it was, two executives from MagTek Inc., one of the largest makers of credit card stripe readers, visited MSNBC.com and gave a demonstration.
Mar 18, 2006 View in Crawl 4
n3tfuryMar 19, 2006
@eighto2: although it provides some information, it's hardly a tutorial.
renaxMar 19, 2006
i seen a program on somthing like that about a week ago<a class="user" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/real_hustle_scams.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/real_hustle_scams.shtml</a>Look at the last point number 5.
Closed AccountMar 19, 2006
I'm surprised we haven't moved past magstripes.Here's an article on how to build a magstripe reader and how easy it is on MAKE! <a class="user" href="http://www.makezine.com/01/magstripe/">http://www.makezine.com/01/magstripe/</a>___<a class="user" href="http://www.shoutcentral.com">http://www.shoutcentral.com</a>
freegooMar 19, 2006
What I find more annoying are anal-retentive people picking apart a persons grammar or spelling on a 2-3 sentence comment. These are just quick comments, not great literary novels... give it a break!
philoviveroMar 19, 2006
I don't understand how your comment got dugg up to 5. Anyone with even a moderate interest in the security industry (do you even subscribe to the Cryptogram newsletter?!) can tell you that biometrics can actually decrease security and, at their very best, can only slightly improve it.Even those who say it can slightly improve security tend to gloss over the fact that if fingerprints are so important, what's stopping a mugger from stealing your wallet *AND* cutting off one of your fingers? Require fingerprints, and you've given muggers a need to mutilate your body to get free money from you. I do *NOT* want muggers to feel like cutting off my body parts is something they need to do.Finally, what happens if someone steals a copy of your fingerprint on a gummybear? Do you just run into your local bank and tell them to change your PIN and your fingerprint?
invisionukMar 19, 2006
DJB31st (sorry, it wouldn't let me reply): Most ATMs no longer work off the magnetic strip in the UK, at least the ones that aren't programmed in COBOL (those ones are usually indicated by the evil ancient green screen). How do I know? I work for the company that builds, maintains, and installs a majority of these. (You might notice the small three lettered logo on them).But yes, in the UK, we have chip & pin these days that doesn't even touch the magnetic strip anymore. It's an ancient unsecure technology which I'm sure will be phased out within the next couple of years. At least here.
masterdebaterMar 20, 2006
Safety? You kidding me? Banks are the worst crooks of all, and its frikkin LEGAL!Has anyone ever read the fine print when you open an account? Other than FDIC insurance, which covers mostly the banks interests - they pretty much nickle and dime you to death with service charges (ever bounced a payment? The retailer hits you up for a service charge *AND* the bank hits you up twice, once for doing it and again for going into overdraft...), and if something unfortunate actually does happen to your account, it's NOT the banks fault, its yours.With interest at 0.25% what the hell is the point of keeping money in a bank anymore? I can FIND the interest on the street in pennies faster than I'll be earning it sitting in there...
pickleguyFeb 19, 2008
This is some great info, and credit fraud is something we should always keep an eye on, but if you want to have accounts that you don't have to worry about getting hacked into, here is a great reference for you, <a class="user" href="http://www.greendotreviews.com">http://www.greendotreviews.com</a> It has a nice listing of prepaid cards and reviews on them as well.