The hacking of nearly 40 million credit and debit cards of Target customers recently was among the largest heists in the entire year. Now, it has transpired that the hackers who stole the information are trying to put these cards to use.
As soon as the news of the hack became public, banks as well as financial regulatory authorities started developing methods to avoid the misuse of any stolen cards. Target also issued notifications to the compromised customers, telling them to take preventive measures regarding their debit and credit cards.
However, the fact remains that taking care of a whopping 40 million stolen cards is a very tough job. To make it even harder, the hackers who are behind this entire episode have come up with some very intriguing improvisations.
For instance, the hackers have issued spoofed versions of these stolen cards which are being used in the very vicinity where they were issued. This is meant to ensure that no alarms go off at the corresponding bank, which may immediately alert the customers if a card makes a transaction from a new geographical location. Such localized use of a stolen card means that it triggers less suspicion and could be used for a longer time before authorities come to know about it.
According to a retail security consultant, James Huguelet, “That makes such cards much more valuable to a criminal. This is a very clever tactic to increase the monetary value of each stolen card. It’s one I’ve not seen used before.”
Analysts have also surmised that given the use of such sophisticated tactics, it is possible that the person or persons behind this hack have an intimate knowledge of the retail industry.
Courtesy: Tech Hive
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