Recently crackers have turned to rigging independent ATM machines (those found in groceries, gas stations, restaurants, and other small establishments) to defraud customers.
Usually, the owner of the establishment gets a small fee on every transaction as rent for having the machine in his or her store.
Some crackers, as well as organized crime groups, have been modifying machines so that the machine scans the customer’s ATM card and stores the account data along with the personal identification number (PIN).
The criminals then take that data, create forged ATM cards, and clean out the victim’s account.
To date this has only occurred with independent ATMs, not bank-owned machines.
Perhaps the most common type of fraud committed by crackers is identity theft.
Crackers steal personal data, either by cracking computers or through scams, referred to as social engineering, designed to trick people into revealing personal data.
A cracker may pose as an employee of an Internet service provider (such as AOL) and attempt to get your password.
Other scams include setting up fake Internet storefronts to collect credit card data.
When the crackers collect enough data, they steal the identity of the victims and get credit issued under the victims’ names.
Always proceed with caution : Guard your Personal information both online and offline; never divulge it to anyone, least of all to strangers who e-mail you and claim to be from your bank, credit card company, or ISP.
Vigilance can help protect you from crackers and script kiddies intent on defrauding you.