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Given the number of credit card transactions that happen across the world each and every day, the technology behind the transfers is shockingly simple. That black stripe you see on the back of the card is the focal point of the transaction. The black stripe is known as the magstripe. It is an imprinting of magnetized particles that contains on the relevant information on the card holder that is needed to process a purchase, money withdrawal or any other task associated with the use of the card. Given the serious cash being moved through plastic, the technology inbedded in the back of your cards must be very advanced right? Nope. Invented in the 1970s, it is as antiquated as a computer from 1980 compared to a laptop today. So, how do identity thieves go about manipulating the magstripes to use stolen personal information? With the advances in technology over the years, it is incredibly easy. Much like using a CD Rewriter, they simply use a magstripe re-writer. A magstripe rewriter is pretty much what it sounds like. You use it to modify the information on the card you are working with in concert with a software package. The rewriter looks like a bar that you swipe the card through. If the process seems familiar, it is. You have used it at least once and probably a couple of times in your life. When you opened a bank account, you were given an ATM card. To activate it, you used a version of the re-writer. Ironically, cash is king for identity thieves. Why? Well, they don't want to be tracked, so they don't buy credit card blanks. Instead, they buy cash cards from banks with cash payment and then load your identity on those. Once the card in question is loaded, it is time to do some serious shopping. The only way to get caught is if a clerk gets suspicous or the person whose identity is stolen puts a stop on their credit. This doesn't tend to happen for at least 30 days. As you can guess, the technology for credit cards is seriously outdated. That being said, nobody is sure how to make it more sophisticated. As time passes, we will probably see cards simply dissapear.
Article Source: http://www.share.onlypunjab.com
Aazdak Alisimo writes about identity theft for ArticlesonIdentityTheft.com.
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