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Debt Consolidation - How to Protect Your Credit Accounts from
By: Charles Essmeier, Sat Feb 18th, 2006
Last week, a security exploit at CardSystems Solutions, Inc, a
credit card processor, may have allowed thieves to obtain as
many as 40 million credit card numbers from unsuspecting
victims. The theft was brought about though a virus introduced
into the CardSystems that allowed external hackers to obtain
access to the account information. Adding to the problem was the
fact that CardSystems wasn’t supposed to have the account
information at all. It appears that CardSystems
“inappropriately” held onto the information after clearing the
credit card transactions. At that point, the account information
should have been deleted. CardSystems held onto the account
information for supposed “research purposes.” Fortunately for
those involved, the compromised information only included
account numbers and not Social Security numbers, which would
have assisted the thieves in identity theft scams. This latest
security breach at a credit card processor outlines how anyone
can be vulnerable to account or even identity theft. Is there
anything that can be done about it?
The credit card
companies largely dictate the relationships between the credit
card companies and the credit card processors. They are supposed
to keep tabs on the processors and make sure that the processors
use secure measures to protect the data of customers. These
issues are not governed by law, but the processors can be fined
by the credit card companies for violations. So what can the
average credit card customer do to make sure that their account
information isn’t compromised? Not much, it would appear. The
paper transaction has long since been replaced almost
universally by the electronic one, and anytime a customer uses a
credit card, their account information is moved from one
computer to another. Hackers continue to develop more
sophisticated methods of stealing information, and their
techniques are often ahead of the processing companies’ ability
to develop comparable security measures. For the foreseeable
future, credit card customers must consider that their accounts
are vulnerable.
In time, the credit card companies and
their associated processors will establish security guidelines
that are more effective than the ones that are currently in
place. In the meantime, the best thing cardholders can do is to
simply minimize their exposure. The best way to do this is to
have as few credit card accounts as possible and to use them
sparingly. Granted, it is often difficult to avoid using credit
cards, but there are times when people simply pull them out of
the wallet out of habit when using a check or cash would
suffice. This may sound inconvenient, but at the moment, the
only way to make certain that your account numbers are safe is
to avoid using them when possible.
About the author:
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the
owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational
Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and
credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to
information regarding home equity loans.
