The WSJ reports today that according to Gartner, 80% of credit card data breaches are tied to cash registers and other POS terminals. Credit card regulations require that retailers not store credit and debit card information in order to prevent fraud. So thieves utilize skimming devices to intercept card information at the point of sale – the purloined data can be sold to or used to make counterfeit cards. 40 year old magnetic stripe technology is particularly vulnerable to modern fraudsters and aging retail POS systems are not necessarily updated with the latest security features. Read the whole article here.
Graphic courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:
Skimming Devices Target Debit-Card Readers
The Wall Street Journal
By JOSEPH PEREIRA
March 8, 2007; Page B1
