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How 'carders' trade your stolen personal info

Debit cards and PINs are hot subjects on the criminal underground forums these days, Tom Rusin said on a recent visit to CNET. Rusin is president of North American operations at Affinion Group, a company that monitors the criminal underground for several thousand banking institutions by lurking in carder chat rooms.

"Carders" are the people who buy, sell, and trade online the credit card data stolen from phishing sites or from large data breaches at retail stores. Affinion is one of the largest identity protection companies in the world, with offices in more than a dozen countries. Over … Read more

Security Bites 115: Inside ID fraud's underground forums

This week Tom Rusin, president and chief executive officer of Affinion's North America operation, is Robert Vamosi's guest. His company monitors the criminal underground for several thousand banking institutions by lurking in carder chat rooms.

"Carders" are the people who buy, sell, and trade online the credit card data stolen from phishing sites or from large data breaches at retail stores. Affinion is global, with offices in more than a dozen countries. And over the years they have provided a wealth of information to the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI. A few weeks ago, … Read more

Apple .Mac customers targeted for fraud

When Apple rolled out its Mobile Me service last month, it provided phishers with a golden opportunity to scam users of .Mac, according to a credit card protection service.

"We confirmed this," said Dan Clements, vice president at Affinion Group, the company that owns Card Cops. "...We called some of the .Mac users" found on a trading site used by the Internet underground.

Card Cops includes among its customers major banks worldwide. For the last eight years, the group has been helping its clients and law enforcement track down those who are trading personal information online. … Read more