Tag Archives: U.S. Secret Service

Toward a Breach Canary for Data Brokers

December 8, 2014

When a retailer’s credit card systems get breached by hackers, banks usually can tell which merchant got hacked soon after those card accounts become available for purchase at underground cybercrime shops. But when commercial data brokers get hacked or are tricked into giving consumers’ data to identity thieves, there is no easy way to tell who leaked the information when it ends up for sale in the black market. In this post, we’ll examine one idea to hold consumer data brokers more accountable.

Fun With Funny Money

September 1, 2014

Readers or “fans” of this blog have sent some pretty crazy stuff to my front door over the past few years, including a gram of heroin, a giant bag of feces, an enormous cross-shaped funeral arrangement, and a heavily armed police force. Last week, someone sent me a far less menacing package: an envelope full of cash. Granted, all of the cash turned out to be counterfeit money, but hey it’s the thought that counts, right?

Counterfeit U.S. Cash Floods Crime Forums

August 20, 2014

One can find almost anything for sale online, particularly in some of the darker corners of the Web and on the myriad cybercrime forums. These sites sell everything from credit cards to identities and stolen merchandise, but until very recently, one illicit good I had never seen for sale on the forums was counterfeit U.S. currency.

Banks: Card Breach at Goodwill Industries

July 21, 2014

Heads up, bargain shoppers: Financial institutions across the country report that they are tracking what appears to be a series of credit card breaches involving Goodwill locations nationwide. Goodwill Industries International Inc. says it is working with federal authorities on an investigation into these reports.

Feds Charge Carding Kingpin in Retail Hacks

July 8, 2014

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday announced the arrest of a Russian hacker accused of running a network of online crime shops that sold credit and debit card data stolen in breaches at restaurants and retailers throughout the United States. The government alleges that the hacker known in the underground as “nCux” and “Bulba” was Roman Seleznev, a 30-year-old Russian citizen who was recently arrested by the U.S. Secret Service.

Card Wash: Card Breaches at Car Washes

June 23, 2014

An investigation into a string of credit card breaches at dozens of car wash locations across the United States illustrates the challenges facing local law enforcement as they seek to connect the dots between cybercrime and local gang activity that increasingly cross multiple domestic and international borders.