NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
allow them to secure high pr<strong>of</strong>it margins and maintain the barriers <strong>of</strong> entry. Meanwhile,<br />
at the lower level <strong>of</strong> the chain, criminal activity (the cashiers and criminal gangs) is<br />
becoming more sophisticated in organisational management, increasing the number <strong>of</strong><br />
victims and multiplying their comparably lower pr<strong>of</strong>it-margin activities.<br />
2.2.1 Capabilities and specialisation for data harvesting<br />
(a) Use <strong>of</strong> non-cyber skills to harvest data.<br />
Credit card fraudsters and identity thieves use a combination <strong>of</strong> ‘traditional’ skills to<br />
acquire data and perpetrate fraud. Rummaging in trashcans for personal and financial<br />
data is a tried and tested way but increasingly unrewarding as more people now use<br />
shredders. Rummaging is also time consuming and can sometimes yield little for the<br />
effort expended whilst running the risk <strong>of</strong> being caught or arousing suspicion. 177<br />
A quicker, more effective and increasingly common method involves working with<br />
‘subcontractors’ or thieves. Cybercriminals pay them well - each card is worth £250 and<br />
if accompanied by a PIN, it fetches about £500. 178 ‘Insider agents’, employees <strong>of</strong><br />
companies such as in financial institutions, call centres and bars and restaurants are the<br />
prime targets. “They [the fraudsters] just brazenly hang around outside the <strong>of</strong>fice<br />
complex gates,” admits a Risk and Security Manager <strong>of</strong> a leading online computer<br />
retailer. 179 Prices will be lower if the call centres are in low cost countries, such as India,<br />
where passwords, addresses and passport details can change hands for a little more<br />
than £4. 180<br />
Credit card fraudsters and identity thieves directly approach potential accomplices who<br />
have two distinct characteristics: (1) those who have easy access to customers’ personal<br />
or financial details; (2) those in poorly paid jobs with access to financial data, so the<br />
financial incentive is so attractive that it outweighs concerns about collusion with the<br />
fraudster. Fraudsters who use this approach report a high level <strong>of</strong> cooperation and admit<br />
177 According to a manager in a credit checking company the “going rate” for three ‘identifiers’ for the same<br />
individuals was worth £5 to the homeless in Camden who were ‘contracted’ to rummage through the rubbish<br />
bins. Identifiers which could be used to apply for a passport was worth £50. Interview conducted on 29 th<br />
January 2008.<br />
178 192.com Business Services, (2008), The Fraudster’s Modus Operandi. London.<br />
179 192.com Business Services, (2008), The Fraudster’s Modus Operandi. London.<br />
180 Biswas, S., (2005) How secure are India’s call centres?, BBC News, 24 June,<br />
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4619859.stm.<br />
Page 60