After poking about on the subject, a few things that could make this problem even worse.
We tend to think of our credit cards or debit cards as having a limit... ie. the credit card company would question sudden activity and stop the charges, or that the debit card risk would, at worst, be limited to the amount in your account. This may not be the case. The biggest fear would be having your identity stolen. More later...
While the details are not yet out, it seems apparent that the stolen information did not come from "skimmers", which would take a long time, and be limited to the information in the machine at the time... Suspicion is that the hacking went into a central system, and that the general area of the hacking was somewhere in Vietnam. This is an even worse problem, because of jurisdictional limits for investigation.
One guess as to the potential comes from this scenario. Hackers take the 40+million records, which includes name, account number and security code, and possibly address information (not sure about that)... and then package these records in groups of 1,000, selling them off to mafia type cyber pirates for $1 per account.
The simplest form of piracy would be to create and encode blank cards to be used by the perp, or to buy online.
Now... to the part about identity theft.
By itself, the credit or debit card is not a passport to sudden wealth, but going a bit further... Using the card as a starting point to steal your identity..
all of the information that could make HIM = YOU. Allowing them to... for instance:
Obtain a drivers license in another state, open up a bank account, obtain a voting card, get a (copy) birth certificate... and in effect, be YOU. Possibly the very worst part... it may not happen today or tomorrow, but 6 months, a year or more from now.
Stealing the identity is not as hard as it seems, but can take some effort and some time. You are probably familiar with the "White Pages"... a simple start. This can give your address, people who are associated with you, like kids or relatives, your telehone number, and the names and address es of your neighbors.
Google maps and Bird's eye view shows your house. Your face book page may show an infinite amount of personal information (whatever you share).
Geneological sites can show up relatives, like Your mother's maiden name... or the town in which your father was born... (test questions used to block your banking or personal info accounts).
...and for about $50, a complete background check.
With the explosion of social media, there are many many more possibilities, such as where you work, from Linked In.
...then, the easiest source... your name, you user name(s) into Google search... which, inour case, leads back to all the personal stuff we put here on ER.
If this sounds unreal, consider the moneyary rewards that coud be possible from spending a few hours or days in drilling for this information.
After an identity is stolen, fixing is a nightmare, as taking out loans, cleaning out bank accounts, buying cars can all happen in a matter of days or weeks, before the theft is discovered.
Definitely a scare story... and so far, this kind of mass theft has not occurred.
Likely this will be just a wake up call, for everyone... I watched an interview with a cyber security "expert" who said that no matter how sophisticated the "secure" system, the cyber criminal will always be a step ahead.
I don't know that you and I can do very much about this, other than being aware that all of our personal identification information is not in one place... as in a wallet, with drivers license, credit cards, social security cards, medical information and other identity items... Not just the wallet, but anywhere the information may be available and subject to loss or theft... The tablet, phone, laptop or even in the glove compartment of the car.
As I look around me, I see that I'm vulnerable, but also resigned to the possibilities. Other than some small, obvious changes, won't let the worry take over my life... Am too old for this shtuff...
And so ends a short foray into "what if"... Time for my ham and eggs breakfast.
We tend to think of our credit cards or debit cards as having a limit... ie. the credit card company would question sudden activity and stop the charges, or that the debit card risk would, at worst, be limited to the amount in your account. This may not be the case. The biggest fear would be having your identity stolen. More later...
While the details are not yet out, it seems apparent that the stolen information did not come from "skimmers", which would take a long time, and be limited to the information in the machine at the time... Suspicion is that the hacking went into a central system, and that the general area of the hacking was somewhere in Vietnam. This is an even worse problem, because of jurisdictional limits for investigation.
One guess as to the potential comes from this scenario. Hackers take the 40+million records, which includes name, account number and security code, and possibly address information (not sure about that)... and then package these records in groups of 1,000, selling them off to mafia type cyber pirates for $1 per account.
The simplest form of piracy would be to create and encode blank cards to be used by the perp, or to buy online.
Now... to the part about identity theft.
By itself, the credit or debit card is not a passport to sudden wealth, but going a bit further... Using the card as a starting point to steal your identity..
all of the information that could make HIM = YOU. Allowing them to... for instance:
Obtain a drivers license in another state, open up a bank account, obtain a voting card, get a (copy) birth certificate... and in effect, be YOU. Possibly the very worst part... it may not happen today or tomorrow, but 6 months, a year or more from now.
Stealing the identity is not as hard as it seems, but can take some effort and some time. You are probably familiar with the "White Pages"... a simple start. This can give your address, people who are associated with you, like kids or relatives, your telehone number, and the names and address es of your neighbors.
Google maps and Bird's eye view shows your house. Your face book page may show an infinite amount of personal information (whatever you share).
Geneological sites can show up relatives, like Your mother's maiden name... or the town in which your father was born... (test questions used to block your banking or personal info accounts).
...and for about $50, a complete background check.
With the explosion of social media, there are many many more possibilities, such as where you work, from Linked In.
...then, the easiest source... your name, you user name(s) into Google search... which, inour case, leads back to all the personal stuff we put here on ER.
If this sounds unreal, consider the moneyary rewards that coud be possible from spending a few hours or days in drilling for this information.
After an identity is stolen, fixing is a nightmare, as taking out loans, cleaning out bank accounts, buying cars can all happen in a matter of days or weeks, before the theft is discovered.
Definitely a scare story... and so far, this kind of mass theft has not occurred.
Likely this will be just a wake up call, for everyone... I watched an interview with a cyber security "expert" who said that no matter how sophisticated the "secure" system, the cyber criminal will always be a step ahead.
I don't know that you and I can do very much about this, other than being aware that all of our personal identification information is not in one place... as in a wallet, with drivers license, credit cards, social security cards, medical information and other identity items... Not just the wallet, but anywhere the information may be available and subject to loss or theft... The tablet, phone, laptop or even in the glove compartment of the car.
As I look around me, I see that I'm vulnerable, but also resigned to the possibilities. Other than some small, obvious changes, won't let the worry take over my life... Am too old for this shtuff...
And so ends a short foray into "what if"... Time for my ham and eggs breakfast.
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