Offbeat News

Jet · 11-27-2010, 02:14 PM

ATM Fraud Gets Even More Brazen

by Karen Blumenthal
Saturday, November 27, 2010

provided by
The Wall Street Journal

Until recently, skimming equipment was relatively crude and clunky, attached to card-readers with double-stick foam tape and relying on small cameras to record hands punching in PINs. Newer devices include equipment that fits inside card readers, pinhead-sized cameras and well-crafted attachments that sit snugly on top of ATM card readers and PIN pads, looking just like the real equipment. Bluetooth technology allows the fake card reader and PIN pad to talk to each other, and data drives or wireless technology can make downloading of stolen information quick and easy.

Avivah Litan, fraud analyst at Gartner, a research firm, estimates that fraud involving debit cards, PINs and point-of-sale equipment has surged 400% over the past five years. One tactic, she says, has been "flash attacks": Using the stolen information, gangs create thousands of counterfeit debit cards and then dispatch cronies to at least 100 ATM machines in several cities at once. Each withdraws a small dollar amount from several accounts to avoid fraud-detection software, adding up to tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

Full story and links.....
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-bud...en-more-brazen

betenoire · 12-08-2010, 03:26 PM

Online retailer threatens and harasses customers - which drums up more business for him

This worked because, previously, Google couldn't tell the difference between a good review and a bad review. All that mattered to the search engine was how much mentioning this guy was getting.

And now he's in jail.

Nat · 12-08-2010, 08:18 PM

Oprah Winfrey: 'I'm not a lesbian'

The rumors have been around for years. She even made light about them recently. But Oprah Winfrey has once again stated flatly: "I'm not a lesbian."

"I'm not even kind of a lesbian," the talk-show queen, 56, tells Barbara Walters in an upcoming interview on ABC. "And the reason why [the rumor] irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I'm lying. That's number one. Number two ... why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life."

The rumors have focused on Winfrey's friend Gayle King. But Winfrey says that relationship is extremely close in a whole different way.

"She is ... the mother I never had. She is ... the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don't know a better person. I don't know a better person," Winfrey says while choking up.

"It's making me cry because I'm thinking about ... how much ... I probably have never told her that. Tissue, please. I now need tissue. I've never told her that."

View Poll Results: Do you think Huck Finn should be revised?
It's a classic and it should stay as written during Twain's time.	80	94.12%
It's time for an update to get rid of any racial slurs or references.	2	2.35%
Well all considered, logic says Gone With The Wind should be updated too.	3	3.53%
Voters: 85. You may not vote on this poll

12-08-2010, 03:26 PM	#2
betenoire Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Satan in a Sunday Hat Preferred Pronoun?: Maow Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Chemical Valley Posts: 4,086 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,312 Thanked 8,741 Times in 2,566 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	Online retailer threatens and harasses customers - which drums up more business for him This worked because, previously, Google couldn't tell the difference between a good review and a bad review. All that mattered to the search engine was how much mentioning this guy was getting. And now he's in jail. __________________ bête noire \bet-NWAHR\, noun: One that is particularly disliked or that is to be avoided. Last edited by betenoire; 12-08-2010 at 03:41 PM.

12-08-2010, 08:18 PM	#3
Nat Senior Member How Do You Identify?: bigender (DID System) Preferred Pronoun?: he/him or alter-specific Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Central TX Posts: 3,537 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,047 Thanked 13,967 Times in 2,589 Posts Rep Power: 21474855	Oprah Winfrey: 'I'm not a lesbian' The rumors have been around for years. She even made light about them recently. But Oprah Winfrey has once again stated flatly: "I'm not a lesbian." "I'm not even kind of a lesbian," the talk-show queen, 56, tells Barbara Walters in an upcoming interview on ABC. "And the reason why [the rumor] irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I'm lying. That's number one. Number two ... why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life." The rumors have focused on Winfrey's friend Gayle King. But Winfrey says that relationship is extremely close in a whole different way. "She is ... the mother I never had. She is ... the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don't know a better person. I don't know a better person," Winfrey says while choking up. "It's making me cry because I'm thinking about ... how much ... I probably have never told her that. Tissue, please. I now need tissue. I've never told her that." __________________ I'm a fountain of blood. In the shape of a girl. - Bjork What is to give light must endure burning. -Viktor Frankl

11-27-2010, 02:14 PM	#1
Jet Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: .. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: .. Posts: 3,471 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 292 Thanked 2,647 Times in 1,293 Posts Rep Power: 0	ATM Fraud Gets Even More Brazen by Karen Blumenthal Saturday, November 27, 2010 provided by The Wall Street Journal Until recently, skimming equipment was relatively crude and clunky, attached to card-readers with double-stick foam tape and relying on small cameras to record hands punching in PINs. Newer devices include equipment that fits inside card readers, pinhead-sized cameras and well-crafted attachments that sit snugly on top of ATM card readers and PIN pads, looking just like the real equipment. Bluetooth technology allows the fake card reader and PIN pad to talk to each other, and data drives or wireless technology can make downloading of stolen information quick and easy. Avivah Litan, fraud analyst at Gartner, a research firm, estimates that fraud involving debit cards, PINs and point-of-sale equipment has surged 400% over the past five years. One tactic, she says, has been "flash attacks": Using the stolen information, gangs create thousands of counterfeit debit cards and then dispatch cronies to at least 100 ATM machines in several cities at once. Each withdraws a small dollar amount from several accounts to avoid fraud-detection software, adding up to tens of thousands of dollars in losses. Full story and links..... http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-bud...en-more-brazen