Retail Merchandising Blog

Technology:ëBrute forceí card thieves attack
Hackers just dial through account numbers until they find one

By Bob Sullivan
MSNBC- April 23

You might call it the least creative way to steal credit card numbers but it works, and it's costing merchants thousands of dollars. In the past several weeks, computer criminals have taken to running thousands of nickel and dime charges through merchant accounts, picking credit cards numbers at random. Most are declined. But the few that are authorized mean the criminal has struck gold. Meanwhile, merchants are footing a big bill, paying up to 35 cents for each attempt. One told MSNBC.com that 13,000 attempts were made in a single weekend, adding up to a hefty $4,550 bill.