WASHINGTON—Crooks have come up with a new scheme in which stolen credit card information is embedded into barcodes on fake money network rewards cards.
Krebs on Security reported scammers are paying for merchandise by instructing a cashier to scan the rewards card barcode and enter the expiration date and card security code.
Earlier this month, the Secret Service documented a recent fraud incident in Texas involving a counterfeit club membership card containing a barcode, and a card expiration date and CVV printed below the barcode, Krebs said.
“Located underneath the barcode are instructions to the cashier on the steps necessary to complete the transaction,” reads an alert the Secret Service sent to law enforcement agencies, Krebs said. “They instruct the cashier to select card payment, scan the barcode, then enter the expiration date and CVV. In this instance, the barcode was encoded with a VISA credit card number.”
The instructions on the phony rewards card are designed to make the cashier think it’s a payment alternative designed for use exclusively at Sam’s Club and Walmart stores. When the transaction goes through, it’s recorded as card-not-present purchase.
An ‘Evolution’
“This appears to be an evolution of the traditional card-not-present fraud, and early indications are linking this type of activity to criminal organizations of Asian descent,” the alert explained.
“As a result of this emerging trend, instead of finding a large number of re-encoded credit cards during a search, a subject may only possess stickers or cards with barcodes that contain stolen card data,” the alert continued. “Additionally, the barcodes could be stored on the subject’s cell phone. If barcodes are discovered in the field, it could be beneficial to utilize a barcode scanning app to check the barcode for credit card data.”