Home Technology Fraudsters In NYC Subway Using Tiny Cameras Have Jump On NSA

Fraudsters In NYC Subway Using Tiny Cameras Have Jump On NSA

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Watch out NSA, the criminal spymasters placing tiny cameras in New York’s subway system, stealing credit card information, might have you beat.

Tiny cameras hidden in rafters next to electrical outlet near ceiling

As reported in Business Insider, small hidden cameras have been discovered above the MTA vending machines – and these cameras can obtain your credit card information.  A credit card camera from above would typically only capture one side of the credit card, but this information can still have a value to identity thieves.

What prompted someone to look in the rafters and find this digital gem?

As the digital world becomes increasingly fragile, vulnerable to various cyber worm-like attacks on credit card data and technical “glitches” causing havoc on stock exchanges, comes what might be considered a relatively old school method: not a computer bug inside the digital innards of a security system, but just a camera capturing pictures.  Sure, the camera is well concealed in the rafters and very small, but someone might just question the logic of an electrical outlet at ceiling level, unless someone was vacuuming the ceiling on a regular basis. Its hard to determine what actually caused the camera to be discovered in a fashion similar to other deceptive practices.

The report notes that credit card skimmers were reportedly found on the Long Island Railroad last November, yet this incident shows the increasing technical sophistication of the fraudsters.

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