BIN Attacks And Credit Card Fraud In Pennsylvania

Credit card fraud comes in many different forms.  Some people carry devices that skim credit cards, while others memorize card numbers or photograph people’s card information with their smartphones while collecting payments at work.  Most cases of credit card fraud begin with someone stealing a person’s credit card information, usually including the credit card number, personal identification number (PIN), and CVC code, and then using the information to make unauthorized transactions.  It is easy enough to guess someone’s PIN if you are patient enough, since a PIN is only four digits, but credit card numbers are, by design, notoriously difficult to guess.  At least, they used to be.  A new form of credit card fraud, known as BIN attacks, involves enlisting the help of artificial intelligence to guess people’s credit card numbers.  The legal consequences for involvement in a BIN attack are as serious as the consequences for any kind of credit card fraud.  If you are facing criminal charges for conspiracy to commit a BIN attack, contact a Pittsburgh white collar crime lawyer.

How Is a Credit Card BIN Different From a Credit Card PIN?

Every credit card has a bank identification number (BIN); it is the first six digits of the credit card number.  This is why, when you start typing your credit card number on a website to make a payment online, the website figures out whether it is a Visa, MasterCard, or some other type of card before you finish typing all the digits.  Every credit card issued by the same bank has the same BIN; in this regard, a BIN is like a routing number for a credit card.

By contrast, a personal identification number (PIN) is only four digits.  Each person’s PIN is unique, and it is often possible to make purchases without entering the PIN.  You only need the PIN if you want to use the credit card at an ATM; the issuer might also ask you for it when you call its customer service line.  If you can use your card without entering the PIN, so can fraudsters.

In the News

BIN attacks have been on the rise in the past year, thanks to quick-thinking computers.  It would take us all day to enter thousands of six-digit numbers, and we probably would not even land on a real BIN; we would be like the proverbial monkeys with typewriters attempting to produce the works of Shakespeare.  Once the bots find a valid BIN number, they start firing off combinations of ten digits until they can get a valid credit card number.  AI bots can do this at a dizzying speed, which means that BIN attacks can sometimes result in completed fraudulent transactions.  Most of the time, though, the banks that issued the cards flag the transactions before they can clear, so the consumers do not lose money.

Contact Gary E. Gerson About Criminal Defense Cases

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for credit card fraud including BIN theft.  Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.

Source:

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