Fraud

If you have used your debit card at OfficeMax, you might want to check on your bank statement. NJ police have arrested 14 people in connection with stolen data & fake debit cards. The crime spree forced banks across the nation to replace hundreds of thousands of debit cards. It also stranded Americans in other countries with no cash, as their banks had locked them out of the international ATM network.

“But wait”, you say, “don’t you need a pin to get access to an account?” Yes. However, a lot of the equipment for debit sales is capable of storing pins & account information. It doesn’t necessarily need to be malicious either. If the system is not properly configured, some systems could end up archiving all this information, rather than using it for the transaction, then deleting it. Once this data is being stored, all it takes is someone with a little know how to make a copy of all this, and go on a spree.

I used to work at a financial transaction company (credit cards, direct withdrawals, etc), so I’m actually surprised this hasn’t happened more. It is probably also why I watch my accounts like a hawk. Convenience comes with a price.