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Site Clues Consumers Into Credit Fraud

CardCops.com is a somewhat controversial company that fights credit fraud by exposing and publicizing web site hacks and online fraud techniques. The controversy comes up because some are worried that they show potential crackers and hackers too much detail about how to do their dirty work.

Maybe they do go too far, but they've recently released an intriguing free service just for consumers. They allow anyone to type in their credit card number to match it against a database of 100,000 credit cards that have been compromised by thieves. Type in your credit card number? Huh? Is it safe? Are you crazy?

CardCops have been around since the late '90s and work closely with law enforcement organizations like the U.S. Secret Service. Here's a quote from Dan Clements, founder of CardCops, "We're creating a situation where Joe Consumer can check his card on the Internet to see if it's been possibly abused."

Should you try this out? CardCaps is a legitimate organization and I trust their security measures, but you should make your own judgement. Even if you decide to try it, you might have to wait a while — their servers were maxed out from all the people trying out the service.

Go to the CardCops web site

June 26, 2005
1 comment

Experian Credit Reports Stolen

Thieves are unbelievable. If only they'd apply their talents to something worthwhile. In this case, they got their hands on a Ford Motor Credit authorization code for Experian, one of the major credit bureaus. This allowed them to make requests for people's credit reports directly from Experian, just like they were a Ford dealership.

This may affect you, even if you've never owned or financed a car from Ford. The reports were pulled from the general population, not just from Ford customers. I've read elsewhere that they even targeted affluent neighborhoods, just to victimize people with bigger credit lines. If you were one of the victims, however, you should have received a letter from Ford. They've also set up a toll-free line just for this issue - 888-838-8176.

May 17, 2005
4 comments