Carding is the illegal activity of stealing funds from bank credit cards. The annual damage from carding is estimated at billions of dollars. At the same time, almost any person can face this type of fraud.
Carding is rarely done alone. This is due to the fact that stealing money from bank cards requires being a specialist in several areas at once, which is very difficult. Therefore, criminals usually work in small groups, each person in such a group is busy only with his own business. As a rule, such groups are closed, so their identification and fight against them is very difficult.
Carding methods
There are several main types of credit card fraud. In the first case, the criminals in one way or another find out the data from the card, including its secret code. For example, you decide to pay by card at a restaurant. A waiter working for carders takes your card and at a convenient moment reads the data from it using a compact reader, no more than a pack of cigarettes. Despite the lack of a PIN, the stolen data allows the card to be used for online payments. Often, criminals make a duplicate card and use it to pay for purchases in stores.
One of the most dangerous methods of carding is the use of skimmers - small readers installed on the ATM card reader. The appearance of the skimmer usually matches the ATM design exactly, so the vast majority of customers won't notice the trick. To read the PIN-code, a special pad on the keyboard is used, which fixes pressing, or a miniature video camera fixed nearby.
After completing the necessary operation, the client leaves, while all the data of his card are in the hands of the criminals. After that, they only have to make a duplicate of it, which in practice takes a few minutes - all the equipment necessary for this can be bought completely free. Further, all funds from the card are simply withdrawn from the ATM. The most unpleasant thing is that in Russia it is very difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to get the bank to return the stolen funds to the client.
Carding protection
Try not to pay by card in shops, restaurants and other retail and service outlets. Withdraw money from an ATM in advance and pay in cash, it is much safer. If you pay with a card, you should always have it in your sight. Do not let it be carried away somewhere.
Do not make purchases on the Internet using your bank card. For this purpose, use virtual cards - for example, of the QIWI payment system, or get a separate card to which you will transfer the necessary amounts as needed.
Try not to use your card at unfamiliar ATMs. Always inspect the ATM card reader and keyboard. Evaluate if there are any elements nearby that are not provided for in the design - they can hide video cameras. If the ATM looks different from usual or something about it is just suspicious, do not use it. When entering the PIN code on the keypad, always cover it with your free hand.
Do not believe the calls "from the bank", in which you are informed about the blocking of your card. To fictitiously unlock, you may be asked to go to the ATM, insert the card and dial the PIN. In this case, the criminal using special programs can determine the PIN code by the sound in the phone. All other data on your card may have already been stolen earlier.
Set a limit on one-time and daily withdrawals, this will prevent criminals who have stolen your card details from withdrawing all funds. As much as possible, they will be able to withdraw a double limit - for this, the withdrawal is made a couple of minutes before midnight and immediately after it. In rare cases, carders manage to find cards with a large limit, whose owners, for one reason or another, do not immediately receive information about the withdrawal of money. From such cards, money is sometimes withdrawn for weeks, up to zeroing the balance.
Carding methods are constantly being improved, it is very difficult to fight this type of fraud. The best protection today is a microchip card, but so far there are very few such cards. Therefore, it remains to rely only on your own attentiveness and discretion.
