What is Card Cracking?


Credit Card Cracking: What is It?

Card cracking is a credit card fraud that makes use of bots (software that runs automated tasks over the Internet). Cracking is founded on the notion that obtaining a credit card number, also known as a Private Account Number (PAN), and the name inscribed on the card is simple. Bots are used by attackers to guess and validate the additional information needed to "break" and use a credit card fraudulently.

Criminals can get PANs in a variety of ways −

  • Purchasing PAN listings on the dark web

  • Through associates who work in retail or restaurants and have access to credit card data by skimming, which is when an unauthorized party attaches a device to a credit card swiper that allows them to read the card information and PIN.

  • Phishing schemes usually include phoning the credit card owner and posing as an authorized entity asking for their credit card information

  • To steal money, a thief needs the following extra information after obtaining a PAN.

Who are the Targets of Card Cracking?

When money is tight, it's natural for individuals to search for quick methods to make money. Scammers frequently target college students, young people, and newly enrolled military personnel. Card cracking, on the other hand, is unlawful and will not improve your financial situation. You'll have to pay back the money from the fraudulent cheque at the very least.

How Does "Card Cracking" Work

  • Card cracking includes online solicitation via social media such as a tweet, Facebook post, or Instagram post promoting a means to "earn some fast cash," which is sometimes disguised as a scholarship opportunity.

  • The burglar presses the victim into giving access to a savings or checking account in return for quick cash.

  • Using a mobile deposit app, the criminal deposits forged checks.

  • The thief now has access to account numbers and PIN information, and he or she withdraws part or all of the funds in the account.

  • The victim is then instructed to report the card as stolen to the bank in order to be compensated for the money.

The money has already been taken by the time the bank realizes the deposited cheques were phony. The victim will very certainly never get the promised kickback of the stolen monies from the perpetrator, in addition to the bank being misled. When the police are called, and it is found that the victim was engaged in the theft, they might be held financially liable or legally punished.

Hundreds of users have been victims of identity theft, which has harmed their financially and left them with empty bank accounts. Card cracking may appear to be a victimless crime and a harmless method to get additional money quickly, but like with so many other get-rich-quick scams, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

How You Can Protect Yourself from Card Cracking Bots

The tactics listed below can help you protect your payment site from credit card-breaking bots.

  • Do not react to Internet offers of "quick money." Advertisements for card cracking will claim that it is a quick and safe method to get additional money. It's important to remember that cheap money isn't always lawful money.

  • Never give out your account or PIN details to anybody. Always keep this information secret. You expose yourself to possible fraud by sharing it with others.

  • False fraud allegations should not be filed with your bank. You are a fraud co-conspirator if you file a fraudulent claim. Banks' card-cracking detection techniques are continually improving, and any questionable claims will be scrutinized.

  • Suspicious posts relating to scams should be reported. Report any posts that appear to be associated with a prospective fraud to the social media site.

Fingerprinting of Devices

Fingerprinting identifies who or what is connecting to the service by combining the user's browser and device. When trying credit card fraud, fraudsters or bots must make several tries and cannot change their device every time. They'll have to change browsers, clear their cache, get into private or incognito mode, utilize virtual computers or device emulators, or employ complex fraud tools like FraudFox or MultiLogin.

Device fingerprinting may identify browser and device characteristics that are consistent across sessions, suggesting that the same entity is repeatedly connecting.

Fingerprinting technology can generate a one-of-a-kind device, browser, and cookie identifier, which, if shared by many logins, raises suspicions that they're all part of a fraud effort.

Validation in the Browser

To avoid being caught, certain malicious bots might appear to be using a specific browser and then cycle across user agents. Browser validation entails ensuring that each user browser is exactly what it purports to be - that it has the necessary JavaScript agent, is making calls in an anticipated manner, and is behaving in the manner expected of human users.

Analysis of Machine Learning Behavior

The usual activity patterns of real people visiting a payment website may be seen. Bots will usually act in ways that depart from this pattern, but you can't always predict or predict how they'll act. Behavioral analysis technology may be used to examine user activity and spot abnormalities, such as persons or particular transactions that are unusual or suspicious. This can aid in the detection of faulty blots and the prevention of cracking efforts.

Try to examine as much data as possible as part of your behavioral analysis, such as URLs visited, site engagement metrics, mouse movements, and mobile swiping activity.

Analyze Your Reputation

Many software bots are known to have predictable technological and behavioral tendencies, as well as originating IP addresses. You can recognize bots accessing your website if you have access to a database of known bot patterns. Cross-referencing traffic with known fingerprints of rogue bots can readily identify traffic that appears to be a real user at first look.

Progressive Challenges

When your systems think a user is a bot, you should have a progressive method in place to "challenge" the user to determine whether or not they are a bot. To minimize disturbance to actual users, progressive testing implies attempting the least invasive technique first.

Additional Security Measures

Use the following procedures to reinforce your security perimeter against cracking bots in addition to the aforementioned strategies, which allow you to directly check if traffic is coming from a genuine user or a bot.

Multi-factor Authentication

Users may be required to sign in using both something they know (such as a password) and something they have (such as a credit card) (for example, a mobile phone). While this does not preclude cracking, it does make it more difficult for thieves to generate huge numbers of bogus accounts and makes taking over existing accounts nearly hard.

API Security

Credit card APIs, such as those provided by PayPal or Square, are frequently used by eCommerce sites to ease transactions. If not secured properly, these APIs can be vulnerable to attacks such as JavaScript injection or data rerouting. eCommerce sites can employ a combination of Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption and robust authentication and authorization systems, such as those provided by OAuth and OpenID, to defend themselves against many of these threats.

Updated on: 02-Jun-2022

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