THE K G B ELITE AGAIN PRESENTS: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ASSULT WITH A PLASTIC WEAPON FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY BY HE MAN ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: This is a summary of an article called ASSULT WITH A PLASTOCE WEAPON it deals with credit card fraud and is intended for informational purposes only. Armed robbers with machine guns, wearing ski masks stole 6,000 credit cards from the CALIFORNIA plant that makes them.Only about half have been recovered. A womens telephone credit card was stolen from her purse while she was in NEW YORK CITY,and she later recieved a bill for $195,000 in call charged to her card. It is now easier, safer and more profitable to steal with a credit card than a gun says LARRY SCHWARTZ president of the fraud and theft info bureau of Boynton Beach Fla. Credit cards can be used in person,or the name and number can be written on mail orders or telephoned to a wide range of vendors.Cards can also be counterfited,lost or stolen through the mails. VISA and MASTERCARD losses alone were up 50% from 1982 to 1983-from $135 million to $200 million according to the American Bankers Association. Both card companies are owned by bank consortiums. American Telephone & Telegraph Company reports that telephone calls made through illegal use of credit card numbers were up an estimated 37% last year,from $69.5 million the year before to $95 million this year. Brian Brigham a spokesman for Visa international,says use of cards stolen from holders accounts for 35.9% of illegal transactions.These transactions average $650.The next most common abuse,accounting for 29.2% of illegal transactions is with cards that holders have lost.The average use here totals $1,047. The next catagory,at 24% is diversion of cards sent through the mails. This involves the highest average dollar loss $1,919. Counterfit cards account for only 11.2% of the fraud but result in the second highest dollar loss. Ok there are three cycles lost or stolen cards go through.First they are used for large purchases with a quick resale value,such as exspensive jewelry.Once the dollar limit on such a card is reached, the criminals switch to a lower priced items that do not need validation by a sales clerk thus they dont do a credit check showing that the credit limit has been reached.(VISA AND MC DO NOT REQUIRE VALIDATION ON PURCHASES UNDER $75 ALTHOUGH SOME CLERKS ARE NOSY AND RUN A CHECK). More than 93% of credit card fraud activity occurs in 12 states, these are, NEW YORK,FLORIDA,NEW JERSEY,CALIFORNIA,MASSACHUSETTS,PENNSYLVANIA,VIRGINA CONNECTICUT,TEXAS,ILLINOIS,MICHIGAN AND NEVADA. Criminals (PHREAKS) obtain account numbers in several ways:#1 Searching merchants trash for carbon sheets.#2 Buying stolen cards.#3 Getting temp. jobs as mail or telephone order clerks.#4 Working for a bank or having a friend that does.#5 Getting card holders numbers over the phone (Like impersonating a card company representative.#6 Looking over the shoulder of someone making a legit. purchas.#7 Stealing cards from the manufacturer. Once in posession of a card it can be altered by shaving off the old #, and embossing the card with heat to form a new #. Finally some sophisticated counterfiters make their own cards. a New Jersey (SCHOOL) was discovered to be offering classes in counterfiting and related fraud. Upon completion of the course, students were sold cards to use. Placement cosisted of providing graduates with a fence! The two bank card issuers have formed a joint venture company with Malco Plastics, a leading credit card maker, to market electronic WATERMARK tape to approved card producers worldwide. What this tape is used for is to hold a permanant non-altering code that has arithmatic sequences imbeded into the tape.Get this> another company is trying to use carbonless sales slips.Also visa has made a new card,it has a picture on it of a dove and when it is tilted at various angles the card changes hue(color and lightness). Visa hopes to have 80% of its domestic credit card transactions automated by next year,using on on line terminals. These terminals will enable a merchant to transmit personal id #'s, known only to visa and the cardholder. Banks are also starting new procedures.Like mailing cards in plain envelopes with wadding that makes it impossible to feel the cards.Also they are now calling the customer to see if they have recieved their card in the mail. Ok now a little about the dreaded (FBI). They can enter a credit card fraud case that involves interstate transportation of stolen property. But they cant touch a case unless it meets a certain dollar ammount. where CC fraud is not a great problem the dollar limit is $10,000 and problem ereas the limit is $50,000. Right now ther are no federal laws against counterfitting,alteration, possessing a card with unlawful intent,using a card or # with unlawful intent, giving,selling,trading in equipment with the knowledge that they are t be used for counterfit cards. Several bills in congress would close these gaps. Credit cards are one of the major steps moving twords a cashless society. I hope that this bit of info has informed you of the situation that the credit card companies are in. Well that is enough for now. DONT YOU DO ANYHTING I WOULDENT DO AND HAVE FUN WRITEN FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES BY HE MAN