Skimming Scam in New Zealand. Information Security Awareness Training May Lessen Cases of Crime

Thousands of people across the world are affected by crimes such as phishing, identity theft, unauthorized access to online accounts, skimming and fraudulent accounts. Lack of awareness on complaint procedures or tendency to avoid

-, NM (prHWY.com) December 31, 2010 - Recently, counter crime agencies in New Zealand detected Skimming fraud in several cities of Northland province of the country. Usually, offenders insert skimming device at ATMs and swipe machines at Point of Sale (POS). In this case, the offender impersonated as a courier driver and delivered package to several individuals. However, instead of collecting cash, the courier driver requested card payment from the parcel recipients.

When unwary customers shared their card with the offender for payment, the latter swiped the card on a fake swipe machine. The machine was actually a skimming device. Skimming device is used by offenders to capture confidential information contained in the magnetic strip of the plastic card.

The stolen information can be used to make unauthorized transactions on victim's card. In this case, some of the merchant's reported unauthorized withdrawal of money from their accounts. Crime has become an organized activity. Investigative personnel also find it difficult to detect sophisticated fraud techniques.

Counter crime agencies can acquaint their staff on the various fraudulent techniques adopted by criminals through online video training programs.

Legitimate bank customers are also targeted through phishing e-mails, which redirect user to a fake website, which looks striking similarly to the login page of a legitimate banking site. When unwary customers enter the account details, their information is compromised. Information security awareness training workshops by card issuers, banking and financial institutions could create awareness among customers on the various types of risk involved and security guidelines to be adhered by them.

Thousands of people across the world are affected by crimes such as phishing, identity theft, unauthorized access to online accounts, skimming and fraudulent accounts. Lack of awareness on complaint procedures or tendency to avoid legal hassles prevents legitimate bank customers from filing complaints. Wary police officials also avoid registering of fraud cases related to cybercrime and credit card fraud. Police officials can be acquainted on computer and other forms of banking fraud by including computer security introduction and bank fraud case studies during training sessions and workshops.

EC-Council provides industry training and certification for information security professionals in ethical hacking among many other specializations. "Understanding how hackers exploit these vulnerabilities is a key requirement to hardening software and hardware. That is why EC-Council focuses on ethical hacking as an approach to information security evaluation" as stated by EC-Council's Senior Director, Steven Graham. EC-Council through its Certified Ethical Hacker program has trained such information security professionals from all over the world.

ABOUT EC-COUNCIL

The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. federal government via the Montgomery GI Bill, Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS). EC-Council also operates EC-Council University and the global series of Hacker Halted security conferences. The global organization is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Press Contact

Steve Graham
6330 Riverside Plaza Ln NW
Suite 210
Albuquerque, NM 87120
Steve.graham@eccouncil.org
505.341.3228

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Tag Words: workshops, skimming, information security, online video training, computer security

Categories: Internet

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