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Credit Card Processing — Security
Update: Global Payments loses PCI Compliance Status
Global Payments Inc., the company responsible for allowing up to 1.5 million (CreditCardProcessing.net had initially reported the number as 10 million, the original estimate) accounts to be breached has been removed from Visa’s list of PCI compliant processors, though the company is still actively enrolling merchants for their services. Critics of PCI compliance have suggested that many processors rely solely on its standards, which they view as a bare minimum security precaution. Others have called the magnetic strips on the back of credit cards into question citing that the technology is dated and allows for information to be easily stolen. Though the situation is believed to be contained, customers with accounts that have been breached are encouraged to monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity. Global Payments Inc. has reported that the breach did not include Social Security numbers, addresses or names and was limited to only North America.
Up to 10 Million Mastercard and Visa Cards Breached
Mastercard has confirmed that U.S. based payment processor Global Payments Inc. has had a security breach, potentially compromising up to 10 million credit card accounts. The Secret Service has confirmed the incident and is currently investigating. Mastercard has taken immediate steps to minimize the damage, releasing a statement Friday addressing the issue. “As a result, we have alerted payment card issuers regarding certain MasterCard accounts that are potentially at risk,” Mastercard’s representatives wrote. “MasterCard’s own systems have not been compromised in any manner.” Visa is also investigating, according to Brian Krebs, a former Washington Post reporter who broke the story on his blog Krebs on Security. The breach apparently took place between in January and February, 2012, with enough information being stolen to produce counterfeit cards. Visa just released a statement, writing “Visa Inc. is aware of a potential data compromise incident at a third party entity affecting card account … Continue reading
Credit Card Skimmers at Valero Gas Station – December 2011
Dated: January 12, 2012
A Valero gas station in California was the apparent location of a credit card skimming scheme. The Valero gas station, located on Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre California has issued a warning to customers about a possible skimming scam that occurred between December 1 and December 27, 2011. The fraud involves criminals placing a device inside a gasoline pump that is used to obtain information from customer credit cards. There were several reports from customers who stated their ATM cards and credit cards contained charges that were not authorized after using the cards at the gas station pump. Each charge was reported to be about $100 for each transaction and most customers reported the charges were made in areas they do not go to or had never been to for purchases, with one customer reporting a total of three separate charges made on
Chip and PIN Credit Card Processing
Dated: December 27, 2011
Chip and PIN credit cards are common in Canada and Europe, but has not yet become popular in the United States due to the technology and expense required to switch from magnetic stripe readers to Chip and PIN credit card processing equipment. Chip and PIN credit cards are considered more difficult for thieves to steal credit card numbers through skimming and forgery crimes. Foreign Travelers People living in the United States who travel frequently overseas have found it difficult to use their regular credit cards once they arrive at their destination. Many Canadian and European merchants no longer have equipment to process credit cards via the magnetic strip found on all US credit cards. For frequent travelers out of the United States, it is recommended that individuals obtain Chip and PIN based credit cards. Chase Bank is among a handful of issuers of US credit cards that also feature Chip … Continue reading
Stolen Credit Card Numbers Sold Online for $3.50 Each
Dated: December 23, 2011
Hackers around the world have figured out how to break through internet security for some companies, and once inside the secure areas of the websites, copy credit card numbers, security codes and cardholder names and addresses. The stolen credit card details are then placed on a retail-style website, where thieves can purchase them for about $3.50 each. Nearly 8.4 million US credit card numbers are stolen annually. Some of the “best” sites for buying stolen credit card details include an ability to search for cards based on the issuing bank – so customers can choose cards from institutions with weaker security and minimize their risks of being caught. Sites will also allow automatic validation before paying for the credit cards, to make sure the card details they’re buying have not yet been canceled by the banks and can be used to make purchases.
EMV Chip-Based Credit Cards Coming to the US
The credit card industry overseas uses EMV technology to reduce fraud, and the technology is slowly starting to make it’s way to the United States. EMV cards store credit card data on a computer chip rather than a magnetic stripe, making them more difficult to hack into than cards using the traditional magnetic stripe. The executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, Randy Vanderhoof, indicates that there are 1.3 billion chip-based credit cards in circulation around the world, with a few thousand issued in the United States. The technology has been slow to catch on in the United States because it requires merchants purchase new credit card processing equipment in order to read the chip-based cards. The cards themselves cost about $3 each to produce, compared to about 30 cents per traditional credit card with the magnetic stripes. The costs of upgrading the equipment has prevented many merchants from getting … Continue reading
Will Your Customers Data be Safe When They Pay You With Smartphones at the Checkout Line?
Dated: October 14, 2011
Mobile payments or mobile wallets are being considered the future of credit card payments. Instead of swiping a card at the register, customers will “swipe” their smartphone to make a payment. Actually, the smartphone payments work similar to the gas station cards that let you wave it or tap it to a special spot on the gas pump to make payment – you tap your smartphone against a reader at the checkout line to pay. Google recently launched “Google Wallet”, an app that allows users of the Google Nexus S 4G phone on Spring’s network, to store their Citi Mastercard information directly on their smartphone, and then make purchases by swiping cards at the store. Google eventually wants to roll out the service to Visa, American Express and Discover card users, too. While this may be the payment method of choice in the near future, merchants and consumers are wondering … Continue reading
Incentives Offered To Encourage New Credit Card Processing Trends
Dated: August 24, 2011
American consumers are often under the false impression that the technology in use in this country is the top of the line and most advanced. In reality, many other countries are using newer technology in other areas from cars to credit card processing. Convincing millions of American consumers and merchants alike to embrace change, especially when there are many unresolved issues within the industry such as affordability and security could prove to be challenging for credit card issuers using other technology around the world. Here we look at how Visa is using incentives to encourage the use of new technology here in the US. Visa’s Big Plan As reported by DigitalTrends.com, “Credit card processor Visa has unveiled big plans to introduce mobile payment technologies to the United States market, announcing plans to roll out dual-mode chips in its credit card processing infrastructure that will support both Near-Field Communications (NFC) and … Continue reading
Better Security For Credit Card Processing May Be More Costly For Merchants
Dated: August 19, 2011
Merchants who make the decision to accept credit cards, especially those who engaged in e-commerce must decide how much they are willing to pay for secure card processing. While all credit card processors and merchants understand the importance of security, there are those who meet the bare minimum in requirements and those that go the extra mile. Any merchant engaged in payment processing online must understand that paying more for increased security will more than likely save them money in the long run. Here we look at how more security equals higher costs and how that expense is worthwhile. Investing In Security According to Symantec, for every second last year, nine new threats were unleashed onto the Web. This is an ongoing issue for those working to provide a secure environment for consumers, merchants and other businesses who operate on the Web. With these new threats constantly undermining the security … Continue reading
Credit Card Processing That Eliminates Fraud
Dated: August 10, 2011
A long time concern for merchants and consumers has been the security of credit card processing. As the industry has evolved over the years, both security measures as well as the hackers that work to breech them have changed. With each new advance in technology, card processing has become more convenient for merchants, more secure for consumers and more vulnerable to new attacks. When there is a security breech in credit card transactions, processing or data storage, the affected parties could become the victims of identity theft or fraud. This presents an ongoing challenge for developers of equipment used in credit card processing. Here we look at the launch of a new technology which may eliminate fraud all together. Webcam Card Reader Recently announced by Jumio, the latest trend in credit card processing which involves near field communications (NFC) will add webcams to the arsenal of equipment aimed at eliminating … Continue reading
